Seasonal Mishaps
by DragonBookLoverKitkat913
Summary: Basically, a one-shot series based on Bunny's Springflower, Autumn's Orphan, and partially Rotg one-shots and drabbles. So you should probably read those first. Mainly focuses on Ash and Scarlett (OCs) and their significant others. Rated T just in case.
1. New life, new problems

**NOTE: **Need to read my previous stories (Bunny's Springflower, Autumn's Orphan, and Rotg one-shots and drabbles) in order to understand this story! I had to change some things to help each different universe (story) coexist in one fanfic. Now, I'm only doing the disclaimer once.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own ROTG the movie nor the books it was based on. If I did, we would've had a sequel by now.

* * *

Scarlett thought she had it all figured out. Being the Autumn Spirit, a Guardian, immortal, etc. It was supposed to be easy. Okay, maybe not easy, but still. It wasn't supposed to be as hard as it was.

The first obstacle she came across was her center. See, she had no clue what a center was until Jack explained it to her. And ever since, Scarlett had been obsessed with figuring out what hers was. **AN: I realize I never really addressed what her center was in Autumn's Orphan. My bad.**

Not that she had that much time to think about it. Being the Spirit of Autumn and the newest Guardian meant that Scarlett had a bunch of new responsibilities. And, of course, one of those said responsibilities were getting the hang of her new powers.

"I can't do this!" Scarlett groaned as she flopped down onto the grass, her scepter a few feet away from her. Jack sighed as he laid down next to her. He'd brought her to Burgess, to his lake, actually, so she could try and practice her new powers without worrying about anybody seeing her or getting hurt by accident.

Then Jack realized that maybe he should've invited Ash or Mother Nature. While Jack did know how to help her with a few things, like spreading frost and riding Wind. But everything else, like changing the colors of the leaves on trees, controlling lightning (neither Scarlett nor Jack was prepared for that power), or even being able to levitate stuff for whatever reason, was way out of Jack's domain.

Especially the powers Scarlett had been born with. Being able to read Gaelic, having a locket that let her talk to animals, hearing voices that gave her advice (sounds scary, but it only happened when Scarlett was in danger), etc.

"Yes, you can, Red," Jack placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She scoffed in response. "I'm serious; you're just new to it, that's all."

"It's been three months."

"So? It took me years to figure all this stuff out. And I still don't know what all I can do," Jack admitted. Scarlett glanced over at him and smiled softly. "No one is expecting you to know what to do right away. Besides, that's what I'm here for. Your own personal expert who will guide you through something we call the Afterlife!"

"Can I get a new guide? One that doesn't call this new life of mine the Afterlife?" Scarlett asked jokingly. Jack crossed his arms and pouted when his girlfriend laughed at him. "Thanks, Shepherd boy. But I still think I should have accomplished _something _by now."

"Like what?"

"Like figuring out my center. I mean, you guys know yours. North's wonder, Sandy's dreams, Tooth's memories, Bunny's hope, and you're fun while I'm just...me. Even Ash knows what hers is, and she hasn't even taken the oath yet!" Scarlett exclaimed, then sat up, followed by Jack. Ash had been in the hospital for a couple of weeks and was in the middle of preparation for spring. The second spring was underway, Ash would take her oath as well. "Ash figured it out all on her own. I didn't."

"Well, Ash's was obvious. She's always putting other people first, taking care of everyone, etc. We all knew what her center was," Jack placed a hand on the redhead's shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. "Plus, I'm almost 100% certain that Bunny played a big part in her figuring that out. Which means I can help you." ***So I'll address this later, but I was torn about what Ash's center should be. It's between bravery and kindness. Leave a review to tell me what you think it should be***

"Tell me the story of how you figured it out again," Scarlett pleaded, despite having heard the story before. Jack rolled his eyes before he began to recount what had happened in the alleyway with Jamie, back when Jack had a flashback and remembered what he'd told his sister before he saved her.

As he talked, Scarlett began to have a flashback of her, from the day when the Guardians and Jamie had stopped by the Mother Goose Cafe.

_"We both get to go, but only if you want to," Jamie said. Suddenly the door opened to reveal Travis. Jamie got down and stood behind Scarlett, knowing all about her abusive ex-boyfriend._

_"We're closed, Travis," Scarlett stated. Travis glared at Scarlett and Jamie, oblivious to the Guardians standing near him. Jamie had grabbed the teenager girl's hand, scared. And Scarlett knew that. So she had to do something to help him. Something creative._

_"I can read. Unlike some people," Travis sneered, and boy, that had made Jack made even though he had no clue what Scarlett's ex was talking about._

_"I can read. Just not as well as most people. Now, tell me why you're here? You lost?"_

_"I never said we could break up. Which means we're still together," Travis smirked. Scarlett rolled her eyes in disgust, her heart pounding as she tried to figure out what to do._

_"I dumped you. Get over it. It's your fault," Scarlett replied as she finally got an idea. Travis growled and stepped towards her and Jamie. Now, the Guardians didn't notice this, but Scarlett tapped Jamie's hand twice, their secret code for danger. What that meant was that the tappee __**(person who was tapped) **__should run and call 911/get help as soon as the tapper __**(person who tapped the other person) **__distracted the danger._

"And you aren't listening to me."

Scarlett blinked her eyes and shook her head as she realized that Jack had stopped talking and had decided to wave his hand in front of her face until she noticed. Scarlett smiled sheepishly. "Sorry?"

"You falling asleep on me, Sleeping Beauty?" Jack asked teasingly. "Am I really that boring?"

"No, Frosty. But your experience reminded me about that Travis incident at the _Mother Goose Cafe_. Remember?"

"Sadly, yes," Jack muttered with a frown. Scarlett pulled Jack closer to her and wrapped her arms around him to try and make him feel better about the painful memory. Jack willing accepted the embrace. "What about it?"

"When Jamie was scared, and he held my hand, the only thing running through my mind was that I needed to help him. To be creative," Scarlett explained. "Then I made that winter-themed blanket, the one you stole from North."

"I did not steal it. He said I could have it...after I begged and whine about it for twenty minutes," Jack refused to admit that he slept with that blanket every night. Nope, he definitely did not. Okay, maybe he did. "That was pretty creative of you."

"Not to mention, I'm the one who figured out a lot of those clues. Like the clue about Alfonso and the mouth of the lions. And the artist, whose work was in the Prado National Museum," Scarlett continued. "And I found the clue on the masterpiece."

"What I'm hearing is that you're really into art and this is a very strong hint to take you to another museum," Jack joked. Scarlett gave him her signature 'are you serious right now?' look. "That's it, you can't hang out with Ash anymore. She taught you that look and I don't like it."

"And I don't like interruptions," Scarlett quipped. Jack mimed zipping his mouth and throwing away the key before he gestured for her to continue. "Anyway, I did a lot more creative stuff on our trip. Or mission, I guess. Do you think I'm creative?"

"Of course I do, Scarlett," Jack leaned back a little and pecked Scarlett's lips quickly. "The question is; do you? Is it your center?"

"Um...yes?" Scarlett meant to sound surer of herself. But it came out as more of a question than a statement. "I think so. It kind of fits, doesn't it?"

Jack stayed quiet and pulled Scarlet closer to him. He rested his chin on her head and nodded. It wasn't often that the Winter Spirit was completely silent, so Scarlett chose to enjoy it while it lasted and snuggled closer to her boyfriend.

Yes, life was a lot more complicated for Scarlett O'Brien. But at least now she knew her center. Her purpose. Why she was chosen in the first place. Well, okay, she mostly got into the Guardian business because she was in the right place at the right time. Close enough, right?

And Scarlett was certain that she'd have a lot more adventures. Especially if she kept hanging out with the troublesome prankster that was Jack Frost.

* * *

**AN:** I apologize for the quality of my former stories. I thought I was some great writer who wrote long chapters...looking at my previous work makes me want to redo it all. I mean, the chapters were all so short. Instead, you will just have to settle for this. Hope you enjoy it! I have some predetermined one-shots (like forty-plus) in mind but let me know if you have any suggestions and I might include them.

**\- Kitkat Out!**


	2. Never underestimate Jack Frost

"The key to getting the hang of your powers is to figure out how to channel your powers through your conduit. But don't get too dependent on it as Jack did," Ash instructed. She'd had the idea that, in order to help Scarlett gain control over her powers, she should spar against Ash after watching River and Jack go against each other.

"Hey! I am not dependent on my staff!" Jack exclaimed. He took one look at his staff, which was currently in his hand before he tossed it aside. Only to pick it back up when he saw River pulled out his iron ring (River's conduit) embedded with an amber stone in the center. "If River can use his, then so can I!"

"But I don't use it nearly as much."

"Well, Ash uses hers too!" Jack retorted. But both him and River knew that Ash hardly ever used hers at all. Out of all the Seasonals, she was definitely the one who had the most control over her powers. Then again, she'd been around a lot longer than the others. Not that either of the guys would ever call Ash old or anything. They valued their lives too much. "Okay, fine. You guys are right. Can I still use it to spar?"

"Yes," Ash replied. She grabbed Scarlett's hand and pulled her a little ways away from the boys. They'd gone to Ireland, a forest near Dublin, actually, so Scarlett could use some of her "_Irish_" powers as she called it. There was a big clearing, large enough for the guys to fight without Scarlett or Ash accidentally getting hit with ice or water (did I mention there was a small river nearby?) "Alright, you guys can fight now."

"Don't worry, I'll go easy on you," River smirked. Jack smiled innocently. He'd been meaning to try out that little 'trick' he'd used on Pitch and River was the perfect test subject.

"Funny, I was going to say the same thing," Jack shot back as he winked at Scarlett. The redhead shook her head in amusement, but if she had to bet on one of the guys, it would be Jack.

Mostly because Ash and River had no clue that while Jack had been training Scarlett, he'd also been training himself. Slowly but surely, he'd weaned himself off his staff almost entirely. Which provided Jack with the element of surprise.

"And…begin!" Ash shouted before she nudged Scarlett playfully. "How much do you want to bet that we could beat them faster than they'll beat each other?"

Scarlett giggled softly as she watched the two Seasonals fight. River was focused on offense, while Jack just stuck with defense. The Spirit of Summer summoned water from the river and formed the water into a giant fist that tried to ram into Jack. The keyword was _tried_.

Jack swung his staff towards the flowing water and turned it into ice before it could touch him. The ice fell to the ground and broke into a bunch of pieces. "Try again."

"Damn it!" River huffed. Then he glanced over to Ash and Scarlett and quickly backtracked. "I mean, dang it."

"He knows we aren't a couple of kids who aren't allowed to hear 'bad words', right?" Scarlett whispered. Ash shrugged. River and Jack, despite both of them being younger than Ash, always seemed to play the roles of the overprotective big brothers towards Ash. Though when it came to Scarlett, Jack was the overprotective boyfriend. But either way, neither Jack nor River like the girls to hear "foul language".

"When did you get so good at fighting?" River asked as he jumped out of the way to avoid being a human popsicle. "I could've sworn you were bad at this."

"That's what happens when you fight the Boogeyman," Jack smirked slightly as he tossed his staff aside. "Speaking of which, here's a little trick I learned."

Jack cracked his knuckles and thrust out his hands to let forth the almost electric-like icy blast that Pitch had referred to as Jack's "little party trick".

"Ow!" River cried as he fell to the ground. Jack winced; he'd tried to be careful but River had been knocked off his feet almost instantly. Jack ran over to River and helped the dark-haired teen up onto his feet. River groaned and held onto Jack's shoulder for support. "Okay, you win."

Ash had to admit that she was pretty impressed with Jack. She knew he had potential but she'd never seen him perform Winter magic without his staff. Even when she'd been there to fight Pitch the second time, Jack's staff never left his hand. She followed Scarlett as they walked back over to the guys and clapped a couple of times out of amazement.

"Congratulations, Jack. You managed to trick River, which isn't much of a feat, but you also managed to pull a fast one over me. When did you quit relying on your staff?" Ash asked.

"Well, Scarlett's been a big help. I help her, she helps me, and as a bonus, I get to spend time with a beautiful girl," Jack wrapped an arm around Scarlett's waist, pulling her closer to him. Scarlett rolled her eyes but pecked him on the cheek anyway. Dork or not, he was cute when he was romantic.

"I thought you were spending time with Scarlett," River smiled teasingly. Until Ash hit him upside the head. He grabbed his head dramatically and backed away from the Spirit of Spring. "Ow! It was a joke!"

"No, you're a joke," Scarlett remarked with a smirk. Jack let out a laugh and high-fived the redhead, as did Ash despite River's glum expression. "But you did a great job, Frosty."

"Now it's time for you and me to show these guys how it's done," Ash tapped the pink diamond that laid in the center of her headpiece meaningfully before she glanced at Scarlett's staff. "Conduits are allowed, as is martial arts. And kickboxing, of course."

"Kickboxing?" Scarlett asked hesitantly. She remembered Jack mention Ash's kickboxing, and how talented the brunette was. Ash smiled reassuring, which melted all of Scarlett's worries away. She knew that Ash wouldn't hurt her, not on purpose. It was just training. And honestly, getting to spend time with the Spirit of Spring was worth any potential bruises Scarlett might have received. "Might want to stand back, boys."

Jack and River glanced at one another before they ran off towards the trees Scarlett and Ash had hidden behind previously. Scarlett sighed nervously as she tightened her grip on her scepter. It was made of oak wood, and the top was shaped like a torch with a large fire opal instead of flames coming out of it. There were also little pieces of fire opal embedded in the wood, which made the entire scepter sparkle.

Ash picked up on Scarlett's anxiety, and she couldn't help but smile to herself. She saw so much of herself in the Spirit of Autumn, back when Ash was a new Spirit. But unlike then, Scarlett had not only Ash to depend upon, but River, Jack, and all of the other Guardians. Not to mention the support from the Burgess kids. And Jamie's mom (which is a story for another day). "Don't worry; I'll go easy on you. And unlike the guys, I actually mean it."

"Thanks," Scarlett beamed. "Okay, on the count of three."

"One."

"Two."

"Three."

Ash raised her hands and vines shot up from the ground, which caused Scarlett to jump out of the way to avoid getting knocked off her feet. Scarlett ran a few feet as the ground underneath her began to shake.

_'Move,'_ the mysterious Voice that only Scarlett could here when she needed assistance whispered. Scarlett threw herself to the ground and rolled out of the way as the ground that the redhead had just been standing on cracked and pulled away.

"Nice instincts," Ash complimented. Rocks began to fly towards her and it took all of Ash's strength to bend the rocks to her will, which forced them to fall before they could hit the brunette. Both Spring and Autumn had control over the Earth, as in rocks and the ground, so it made for an interesting fight between the seasons' embodiments.

Scarlett opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by the mystery Voice again. _'Slam your scepter on the ground and think of rain.'_

Without a second thought, Scarlett once again did as the voice commanded. Within seconds, stormclouds had formed above Ash's head and rain began to pelt down. Since Ash was momentarily distracted, Scarlett took the opportunity to command the Wind to pick up the redhead to help her fly towards the brunette. Scarlett knocked Ash down to the ground before she pulled away to await Ash's next move.

Like Jack, all of the Seasonals had some kind of control over the four Winds. Through teamwork, of course. Jack's bond was with the North Wind, River's with the South, Ash's with the East, and Scarlett's with the West. While the West Wind and Scarlett hadn't worked together much before, the West was more than happy to comply with the redhead's wishes. If the other Seasonals trusted her, then all four of the Winds trusted Scarlett too.

_'Now concentrate,'_ The Voice once more commanded. _'Control the Earth, the ground, the rocks, and form a trap.'_

Scarlett had never heard the Voice talk as much as it had that day. Normally, it would only say a word, but it seemed to have gotten more talkative. Why she heard the Voice, Scarlett didn't know. She didn't think she would ever truly understand it. But that didn't matter, not as long as it helped Scarlett form a cage around Ash made of rocks.

Ash raised her hands up in surrender, a surprised expression on her face. Scarlett tapped the rocks with her scepter and they crumbled to the ground. Jack and River quickly made their way over to girls, both visibly surprised as well. Scarlett's face flushed as the others clapped.

"What was that?" Jack asked. Sure, his girlfriend had definitely improved over time, but she'd never been able to fly. The West Wind and Scarlett had never managed to connect, yet she was still somehow able to ride the West Wind.

"It was the Voice again," Scarlett stated. Jack knew about the Voice, but at Ash and River's confused faces, she rushed to explain. "Part of my 'Irish' powers includes hearing this voice that kind of...guides me, I guess you could say. It's harder to hear it the farther away from Ireland I am, but today it gave me advice. That sounds weird, doesn't it?"

"No, it sounds cool. I wish I had a voice like that. Maybe I'd finally beat Ash like you just did," River had in fact beaten Ash before, but Scarlett was shy and still new to the whole powers thing. So if he had to give her a confidence boost every now and then, the dark-haired boy realized that he didn't really mind.

"Congrats, Scarlett. You did really well today," Ash praised. Before Scarlett's face could turn an even darker shade of red, Ash decided to change the topic. "I think that's enough for today. Keep practicing, and be prepared for our rematch. Because there will be one. And voice or not, I'll be the winner next time."

"Sounds good," Scarlett replied. River and Ash said their goodbyes and left. Which only left Jack and Scarlett by themselves. Jack wrapped his arms around Scarlett and pulled her into a quick embrace.

"You were great out there," Jack gave her a peck on the cheek, smirking when Scarlett blushed even more. "Wanna spar with me?"

"Only if you're prepared to lose."

"Win one fight and you think you can beat me?"

"If I can beat Ash, I can beat you any day."

"Hey!"

* * *

**AN: **For anyone who has forgotten poor River, he's the only Seasonal who I haven't made the main character in one of my fanfics yet. I _could _do a story on him. Or just dedicate a few chapters to him.

**\- Kitkat Out!**


	3. What's in a name? Or a weapon?

In the orphanage, something Scarlett had learned quickly was that she always had to have a weapon on hand. It wasn't that the people in charge hurt her, no, never. Well, except for the old headmaster but he was fired a few weeks after Scarlett went to live there. No, the problem was that the orphanage hadn't always be known as '_Forgotten Girls Orphanage'_. No, it was originally _the 'Home of Lost Boys and Girls'_.

And some of the older boys were a little rambunctious, to say the least. Most of the time it wasn't intentional, but they were always a little too rough when playing with the younger kids. Scarlett in particular. It was little things, like when a boy would accidentally push Scarlett a little too hard when they were playing tag or just running around. But there was one guy in particular who always seemed to take pleasure in hurting people, Kevin Matthews.

Especially the small, scared redhead who wasn't that great at standing up for herself. Scarlett told Mrs. Bennett, but all it did was get Kevin in trouble, which made him retaliate against Scarlett. Since that didn't work, Mr. Bennett (who will get his own one-shot eventually) pulled Scarlett aside.

"Don't tell Nessa that I bought you this. It's not real, just a prop like they use in movies. But that Kevin kid won't know any better. If he tries anything, pull it out. And if tells Ms. Leigh or Mrs. Crux, then just explain that it's fake. Okay?"

And with that, Scarlett now owned a trick dagger. Even though she knew it was fake, whenever she put the knife under her pillow every night, it brought her some comfort. Once Kevin caught sight of it, Scarlett had a much easier time growing up in the orphanage. Or at least, as easy as it could be in a dreary place like that. Especially when they made it a girls-only orphanage and Kevin finally left for good.

However, now that she was a Guardian, she thought that maybe she should upgrade to an actual weapon and not something that just looked like one.

Lucky for her, Ash had an entire room filled with weapons. Swords, crossbows, regular bows, with plenty of arrows and quivers to spare, shields, spears, bo staffs, axes, maces, sais, nunchucks- well, you get the idea. A couple of guns too but bullets really didn't affect spirits or immortal beings too much unless they were made with Celestial Bronze or Imperial Gold. *Leave a review if you know what that references to*

"Why do you have so many weapons? Do you use them all?" Scarlett asked once Ash had shown her around the entire room. The redhead had to admit that the small cottage Ash lived in was pretty nice and a lot bigger than it looked from the outside.

"When I don't forget to bring them, yes. I use them to practice, so I can use them if I happen across one or I'm able to makeshift one in battle. I liked to be prepared," Ash admitted as she pulled a small bracelet. "I invented this after the last battle with Pitch. It'll materialize a weapon made for short periods of time. I can make you one too, but in the meantime, you should figure out what you want to fight with."

"Well, I thought since I had my scepter, maybe I could fight with a bo staff," Scarlett planned on using her scepter if she had to fight (something she hoped she wouldn't have to do very often) but she wasn't sure if she'd always have it with her. It was a hassle to travel with it, especially to fly.

"Sounds good. I kind of want to practice using the new boomerangs Bunny carved with me. I have some targets I can set up outside and some training dummies we could use," Ash suggested.

"Hmm. Bunny make you some boomerangs? I never pegged you two as the couple who needed his-and-her things, especially weapons," Scarlett teased. Ash's face turned red before she cleared her throat and looked away.

"We aren't!" Ash exclaimed. "He just wanted to add onto my weapon collection. Besides, you and Jack are the ones who both have staffs/scepters as your conduits!"

"Not by choice," Scarlett reminded her as she grabbed a wooden bo staff. Then she spotted a metal one that wasn't too heavy to pick up. "Wood or metal?"

"Wood is easier for us. Spring and Autumn are all about nature, including trees. So, it's easier for us to just summon vines like I did when we were sparring the other day. That way, we can fix the staff if it breaks into two. Just need two vines to pull the wood back together again."

"Gotcha."

About two hours later, Scarlett could say that she was pretty good at using the bo staff. She could also say with complete certainty that she was exhausted. As was Ash, who was just thankful that her boyfriend wasn't there to see how much she struggled to throw the boomerang at the perfect angle. It would've been too embarrassing.

On the bright side, at least Scarlett had a new weapon she could use. Add all the self-defense she'd learned in the past few months and Scarlett could almost say she was ready for combat. Though she really, _really_, hoped that she wouldn't have to put her new-found skills to the test anytime soon.

* * *

**AN:** Okay, I promise that the next one-shot will have Bunny in it. But, in case the title didn't give it away, this is mostly about the Seasonals. I will try to incorporate Bunny and the Guardians since, you know, it's a Rise of the Guardians fanfic and such. And don't think you've seen the last of the Burgess kids _or _Mrs. Bennett. They'll be back. I want to say they'll be back in chapter five if all goes according to plan.

**\- Kitkat Out!**


	4. Betting is a vice- wait, deal me in!

_"Alright, I bet $50 they get together after we rescue Jamie!" North bellowed. Bunny winced and rubbed his ears a bit. Sandy made a $100 symbol above his head, then wrote after sunset today on a scrap piece of paper he had found in the sleigh._

_"Ooh! I bet $200 that it'll be sometime tomorrow!" Tooth cried. Bunny smirked before he placed his own bet. _

_"$300 that it happens while they are gone and looking for the clue."_

_"Oh, please, Bunny. Do not be ridiculous," North said. And a few hours later, when Scarlett and Jack got back and told the group were dating, Tooth squealed and Sandy congratulated them._

_When they went to sleep a few hours later, Bunny went and collected money from his fellow guardians with the young ones being none the wiser._

* * *

None of the older Guardians had planned to tell either Jack nor Scarlett about the bet. What the teens didn't know didn't hurt them. And it wasn't like the Guardians could really do anything with the money.

The only reason Spirits and immortal beings really had money was because a) Tooth needed it so she could give money to the children who lost their teeth and b) for random meaningless bets.

And, of course, betting on when Scarlett and Jack got together was a perfect excuse to bring out the useless money and make a harmless little bet. Never in a million years had the Guardians thought the young couple would ever find out. Of course, Tooth was the one to blab so maybe the others should've seen it coming. She wasn't exactly quiet.

In Tooth's defense though, she'd been talking to North and Bunny about it when Sophie was _supposed _to be asleep. No one could really blame her for not realizing the blonde had overheard everything.

So the next time the Guardians had gone to Jack's lake in Burgess to see the Bennett children, no one was expecting Sophie to run into Scarlett's arms and announce the following;

"They made a bet on you and Jack!"

Scarlett and Jack looked at one another in confusion. Jamie, who had already been told by Sophie about the bet, decided to clarify things for his two favorite teenagers.

"Sophie overheard Tooth saying something about her and the others making a bet over when you and Jack would get together. Sorry," Jamie sent an apologetic glance over at Tooth. He didn't like ratting them out but his sister had already spoken so there was no point in trying to pretend she hadn't.

"Oh really. First, you guys crash our date, and now this?" Jack asked coldly. If looks could kill...Jack decided that since his friends clearly hadn't learned their lesson from when they crashed his and Scarlett's date so he'd have to figure out a way to take care of that. ***Reference from ROTG one-shots and drabbles, chapters 52, 56, & 57***

"Wait, when did they crash our date?" Scarlett just kept looking at everyone while her face grew redder by the second. "Nevermind. I don't want to know. But why'd you guys make a bet like that?"

"Tooth said you were a doorbell!" Sophie exclaimed. Scarlett smiled softly and picked up the young girl.

"I think you mean adorable. Now, what do you two want to do today?" Scarlett asked though she did send a pointed look at her fellow Guardians that clearly meant '_this is not over, not by a long shot'_.

* * *

"I can't say that I'm shocked to hear about their bet. Bunny knew how I felt when Jamie and I had that tour at North's and Tooth wasn't far behind either."

Both Scarlett and Jack had dropped off the Bennett children after the rest of the Guardians had gone home (begrudgingly but Jack insisted). The teens had wanted some alone time to figure out what exactly they were going to do about the whole bet.

Honestly, neither of the Seasonals were that upset about the bet itself, just that their friends had gone behind their backs. And maybe a small part of Jack wished they had gotten some of the money too. Not that he'd admit that. Plus, he'd been dying to get Scarlett's help to prank someone, and this was the perfect opportunity.

"Yeah, and they all kind of knew right before Jamie's disappearance. I think that Bunny must've known we'd talk while we are at the museum or something like that," Jack guessed. "I'm kind of flattered that they care more about our lives than their own. I mean, the bet plus the whole spying on our date fiasco shows how invested they are in us."

"Speaking of the date, did you really get back at North by making him walk on legos?" Scarlett asked with an amused smile on her face. Jack smirked proudly and nodded.

"Yep. Made snow that lasted all day to keep Tooth locked up in her palace, and played that one song, 'Here comes the Sandman' on repeat so Sandy had to listen to it. Bunny hadn't gone so I let him off the hook. But now he's gotta be pranked too," Jack's eyes widened as he got a brilliant idea.

He glanced around to try and see if there was a stray elf or fairy who might've been sent to eavesdrop on the young couple. Despite the fact that the coast looked clear, he pulled Scarlett close and whispered in her ear conspiratorially.

"Now, here's what we're gonna do."

* * *

"I feel kind of bad doing this to Tooth," Scarlett whispered as she replaced Tooth's herbal tea packets with one that contained special powder Jack had gotten from April Fools. Jack and she were in the kitchen at Tooth Palace in the middle of the night, when almost every fairy was out and about leaving gifts for the kids.

Jack squeezed her hand before he finished pouring on of the packets into a pitcher, the powder becoming the same color as the herbal teas Tooth usually drank. "It'll wear off after a few hours. She'll be fine."

"I hope so. Speaking of hope, are we heading to the Warren after this?"

"Yep. We've taken care of everyone else. Did you bring the stuff from North's?" Jack asked. "My snow will take care of the rest but decorations will just make it so much better."

"I know. The prank for Bunny was _my_ idea, Snowflake," Scarlett replied smugly. Jack rolled his eyes but pecked her cheek quickly before he jumped into the air. Tooth's plan wasn't as showy as the others, but he had a good feeling that she'd be just as furious as the others if not more so. Which made the prank totally worth it.

"Let's go, Beautiful. We've got a kangaroo in need of some Christmas spirit."

* * *

The next morning was interesting, to say the least. Sandy was the first to wake up (surprisingly) and he went about his day as usual by making a pot of coffee. See, a little known fact is that the Sandman can't drink caffeine. Sure, the guy has to work all night, but caffeine kept him awake for _days_, sometimes weeks. And Sandy would be the first to tell you how important sleep is.

'Hmm, the coffee tastes a little off this morning,' Sandy thought as he took a sip out of his mug. If anybody was curious, it was a pale shade of yellow with a picture of Sleep the dwarf *Disney reference* with the words 'five more minutes…' printed in a bright shade of blue underneath the dwarf. '_Oh well.'_

Ten minutes later and Sandy had figured out what was wrong. His hands had begun to shake and he was bouncing on the balls of his feet as he walked. Somehow or another, his coffee had been replaced with caffeine. And the man made of golden sand had a pretty good idea as to who was to blame. Sandy felt so energetic, which might've been a good thing if he didn't have such a hard time paying attention to anything. It was like his attention-span had been reduced to three seconds.

He went from thinking about new dreams to going swimming around his island to shooting into the air and just flying around. It would be a good week and a half before the stuff wore off, and until then, Jack and Scarlett had a good laugh every time they saw the usually sleepy Guardian sipping back and forth as he acted like a little kid who'd had, well, caffeine.

Next up was Bunny. Boy, was he mad when he walked out of his cottage to see the entire Warren covered in a thin layer of snow. To avoid certain death, Scarlett and Jack had frosted all the plants, trees, and flowers to keep them from succumbing to the cold. And, as Scarlett discovered, she could put little bubbles of warmth around anything to keep it warm despite the environment.

But Jack hadn't stopped at just snow. He and Scarlett had decorated the Warren with Christmas lights, ornaments, cookies, candy canes, even strings of cranberries and popcorn along with the occasional gift box. Even the few eggs running around had elf ears stuck onto their sides and the golems were covered in wreaths.

"Oi! What the bloody heck?!" Bunny exclaimed as he raced around the Warren to see if the teens had spared any section. No, they did not. Then he came across one of the color dye rivers (frozen over) and caught his reflection. He was wearing a red Santa hat with holes made for his ears, a fake white beard, and one of those stereotypical red Santa jackets.

How Scarlett and Jack managed to get that stuff on him with the Pooka noticing was beyond him. All Bunny knew was that whatever glue they used to keep the beard on his face wouldn't come off for a good while (three and a half days to be exact). Plenty of time for his fellow Guardians to get some pictures of him.

He wasn't the only one to get his picture taken, though. Tooth, bless her heart, tried to keep her mouth shut so no one could get her picture, but in the end, at least ten photos had been taken of her and her new rainbow-colored teeth. She and her fairies all drank their tea in the morning, same as usual. But, just as Sandy had, Tooth thought there was something off about it.

After breakfast, Tooth went to brush her teeth when she saw what had happened to her pearly whites. Apparently, the powder Jack and Scarlett had added to the tea changed the color of teeth for twenty-four hours. At least the prank didn't last a week like Sandy's, which Tooth was extremely thankful for.

Her fairies, however, were not. They were not happy to see they had gotten mixed up in the whole prank mess despite not being a part of the bet. Scarlett felt bad and promised to not include them in the next prank. And as Jack said, there would be plenty more where that came from.

Which North realized as he cursed in Russian upon seeing his workshop. Apparently locking his door would do absolutely nothing to discourage the two mischievous teens. If he'd thought Jack was bad enough, now that he had Scarlett, the pranks would just get more and more creative.

North wasn't sure whether he was grateful that he hadn't had to deal with legos again or upset that his entire workshop was covered in Easter decorations. There were eggs everywhere, along with flowers and baskets filled with chocolate and other little treats. The toys had been put up in storage and all the yetis were just relaxing, painting eggs happily.

They'd been more than happy to help Jack and Scarlett, mostly so they didn't end up getting pranked like the fairies. So they'd helped make a large banner that they hung on the giant globe in the middle of the workshop. It was a bright shade of pink with the words 'Happy Easter!' written in blue and green.

And the elves were all dressed up in spring-themed clothes, with flower crowns on their heads instead of their usual hats. And they refused to serve anything but chocolate bars for five days, and the yetis helped back this up by hiding all the cookies from North.

Needless to say, all of the Guardians ended up feeling both embarrassed and guilty about their bet. After all, betting is a vice, right? They just had to pray that none of them would ever be on the receiving end of Jack and/or Scarlett's pranks again (though even the Man in the Moon couldn't make that miracle happen). And they (especially Tooth) were very grateful that no one had been there to see their embarrassing situations. Sure, the teens had gotten the aftermath on camera, but that was it. At least, they thought that was it.

What the Guardians didn't know was that Scarlett had gotten a few mini cameras that recorded them throughout the night, and had, in fact, caught _everything_. Though Jack and Scarlett did show Ash and River, that was it. Neither of the Seasonals wanted to humiliate their friends too much. Just enough to teach them a little lesson.

Oh, they showed April Fools the footage too, but that's a story for another day.

* * *

**AN:** And Bunny finally made an appearance. As did the other Guardians. I've been wanting to write this scene since I wrote that one chapter in Autumn's Orphan (Chapter 21, Dealing With Bets) so I included part of said chapter in this one-shot. Also, as I stated earlier, this chapter included references from my other story, ROTG one-shots and drabbles. I hope you guys enjoyed! Until next time...

**\- Kitkat Out!**


	5. The worries of a parent

***If you haven't read Autumn's Orphan, this chapter may confuse you***

The Guardians of Childhood were real. And that was a sentence Mrs. Bennet ever thought she'd ever think or say. Sure, her parents told her stories about Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and the Sandman when she was a little, but that's all they ever were; stories.

Never would she have imagined that one day her son and daughter would help the Guardians defeat the freaking boogeyman. Or that they'd be captured and held hostage. Or that Scarlett, a girl she'd known since the redhead was born, would become immortal and save her children. Or that she'd be a Guardian. Or that she'd date Jack Frost.

Mrs. Bennett shook her head. She really needed to quit thinking the word 'or' so much. She was just so confused. And it's not like she could talk to her husband about this. He was a firefighter and worked long hours, so she hated to bother him with any unnecessary worries if she could help it. Plus she didn't want him to think she'd completely lost it.

Which is how she felt. The only consolation she had was that her children believed her.

"Mom! Jack asked if we could go play by the lake! Can we?" Jamie asked excitedly. His mother smiled softly. She'd never seen her children as happy as they were when they hung out with their heroes.

And while she'd never officially met any of them yet (their schedules never seemed to line up and honestly Mrs. Bennett was a little scared to meet them) she trusted the immortal beings. If for no other reason than the fact that Scarlett trusted them.

"Of course you can, sweetie. Just make sure you and your sister wear a warm jacket. And tell Jack to make the ice extra thick so you don't fall in!"

Mrs. Bennett doubted very much that the embodiment of Winter would ever let his first "believers", something Jamie said his teen friend called the brown-haired boy and his friends, fall through the lake but one could never be too careful.

"Okay, Mom!" Jamie exclaimed as he grabbed his and Sophie's jackets before he pushed his little sister through the back door.

"Those kids are too much sometimes," Mrs. Bennett commented.

"They really are."

Mrs. Bennett nearly jumped out of her seat when she turned around. Her heart quit beating so hard when she saw it was only Scarlett. Although...she looked different. Her eyes, face, and even her hair had hints of gold in them now, and she wore a beautiful silver tiara. In her hand was a unique yet beautiful staff.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Jamie let me in and I, well, I missed you," Scarlett admitted, her cheeks flushed. "I wasn't sure if you'd be able to see me though."

"I've known you since you were born. Of course I believe in you. And your new friends," Mrs. Bennett pulled out a chair next to her and watched as Scarlett sat down next to her before the older woman pulled the immortal teen into a hug. "I've missed you too, sweetheart."

"It's been so long. And I know Jamie told you about most of it, but there's so much I want to tell you about my adventure with the Guardians. About everything," Scarlett's eyes lit up as she told the entire story, including everything about her unique ancestry.

Mrs. Bennett just listened and couldn't help but smile in amusement when Scarlett tried (and failed) to imitate her friends' voices and used her hands to make large gestures. There were a few times the older woman had to interrupt with a question about the story or to get the two of them some hot chocolate (with cinnamon because Scarlett loved that).

But other than that, Mrs. Bennett kept quiet and listened. She'd never seen Scarlett so animated or so excited. The poor girl had always tried to keep a "happy" face whenever she came over to the Bennett's home, but Mrs. Bennett had always wondered if it was for her family's sake, or for Scarlett's. Now, however, the redhead was practically beaming. Especially when she talked about a certain white-haired boy.

"One day I'll have to meet this boyfriend of yours. He sounds like a keeper," Mrs. Bennett teased once Scarlett was done telling her story. The teen blushed and smiled shyly.

"Definitely. I'll try to set up a good time for you to meet him. And the other Guardians. Oh!" Scarlett exclaimed as she got an idea. "You should meet Ash and River. They're the other two Seasonal Spirits, and Ash is actually dating Bunny. She's the Spirit of Spring."

"The Spirit of Spring is dating the Easter Bunny? Interesting," Mrs. Bennett commented. It was good to hear that Scarlett was making some friends her own age. From what she'd heard from Ms. Leigh (the woman from Scarlett's orphanage), Scarlett had trouble making friends and hardly ever hung out with kids from her high school. "I'm glad to hear how good things are for you now. And...well, I haven't had the chance to thank you properly."

"Thank me?"

"For saving my children. Jamie and Sophie mean everything to me. Knowing that you were willing to go on what seems to have been a life-threatening mission makes my heart warm."

"Of course," Scarlett replied. "I have to thank you for being there my entire life. And for raising kids that helped me find my place in this crazy world."

"You deserve nothing less than a fulfilling life and I'm thrilled that you found your purpose," Mrs. Bennett patted Scarlett's hand and smiled softly.

She found herself more at ease than she had been seen she'd found out the truth about the Guardians. As long as Scarlett was around, Mrs. Bennett knew her children would remain safe. That thought lifted a weight off the older woman's shoulders that she hadn't known rested on her shoulders.

"Now...tell me more about Jack Frost. I don't suppose you have a picture do you?"

* * *

**AN:** I may only be able to write a one-shot once a week with the way my schedule is going. I would've updated sooner but my birthday just passed so I wanted to take a quick break from writing to celebrate. Plus I have some other stuff in the works currently. It's mostly Percy Jackson, Disney, and some Miraculous Ladybug (don't judge, please). I hope you enjoyed! Until next time...

**\- Kitkat Out!**


	6. Siblings are wack

"This sleepover was a good idea, Scarlett," Ash commented as she finished braiding the redhead's hair. Ash and Scarlett were sitting on one of the air mattresses that Jack had set up in Ash's living room. Jack was lounging on the other one while River sat at the breakfast bar that was between the living room and kitchen. "The four of us hardly have time to hang out like this."

"True. We're always halfway across the world, spreading our separate seasons, always missing one another. Plus you three have your Guardian business," River added as he grabbed an apple and began to munch on it. "I'm just glad I don't have to worry about saving the world."

"Just admit you're jealous and then we can all move on with our lives," Jack ducked his head to avoid the apple River threw in his direction. "I'm not cleaning that up."

"Moon, you both sound just like my brothers from Before," Ash rolled her eyes then turned around so Scarlett could do whatever she wanted with the brunette's hair.

All the Seasonals knew what Ash meant when she said 'Before'. For them, that meant before they were Spirits, back when they were mortal. The group didn't really talk too much about their past lives, as it was sometimes painful to be reminded of what they lost. But when they were all in a good mood, the group had a silent agreement that it was okay to talk about that kind of stuff.

"What were they like?" Scarlett asked. She was the newest Seasonal, so her grief was still fresh. While she didn't contribute very much, she loved listening to the stories her fellow Spirits told her about their previous lives.

"Loud, annoying, and overprotective despite being two years younger than me. They were twins and every bit as crazy as Jack and River," Ash replied. The two girls laughed at the outraged expressions on the boys' faces. "It's true!"

"I would've loved to have siblings growing up," Scarlett stated. The other three Spirits looked at one another and shook their heads.

"No, you don't," Jack, Ash, and River all said simultaneously in a deadpan tone. Scarlett looked at each of them in confusion. She knew siblings didn't always get along but Jamie and Sophie were kind of like a brother and sister, so how hard could having siblings be? ***Author's Note: Hard. It's very hard having siblings. No offense to my sister. Love ya, sis.***

"My sister was amazing, and I would've done anything for her," Jack stated firmly. "But Flee, a nickname I gave her because she loved to run and flee from trouble, drove me nuts sometimes with all her worrying."

"With a brother like you, I don't blame her for worrying," Scarlett teased as she got up and sat beside Jack on the air mattress. The white-haired teen scooted aside to make room for his girlfriend.

"She didn't just worry about me. She was like a mini-adult who started worrying about everyone's well-being from the moment she could walk. Every time I went off by myself, she'd make me promise to come back safe and sound. And don't get me started on what she'd do when I was planning to prank someone."

"She's the opposite of how my sister, Océane, was then," River commented. "She and I were the ultimate prank team. Of course, whenever we got caught, she'd always pin the blame on me..."

"What's the deal with all the water-themed names?" Ash asked. River shrugged his shoulders. "Better than what my parents named my brothers. They were named after the same mythical god of dreams, one being the Greek version and the other being the Roman name."

"I know the Greek name, Morpheus. But what's the Roman one?" Jack smiled softly when Scarlett laid her head on his shoulder, clearly getting sleepy.

"Somnia. But why did they want to name them after a god of dreams?" River walked over towards the others and sat down beside Ash.

"Ashlynn means 'dream'. It was either all our names meant the same thing, or they all started with A. They were old fashioned like that," Ash explained. "But it was the 1600's so them being like that was to be expected."

"You lived in France, right?" Scarlett asked sleepily. Ash nodded before she subtly turned on the lamp and switched off the overhead light so it wasn't too bright. She was getting tired, and Scarlett looked like she was gonna fall asleep any second. "What was it like?"

"Well, it was great not having the same rights as men," Ash deadpanned. "Besides that, it was alright. I mean, not the arranged marriage part. But everything else was fun."

"Shh," Jack hushed. River and Ash looked to see that Scarlett was fast asleep. Jack carefully laid her down onto the mattress, careful not to wake her up. Ash turned off the lamp and laid down beside River.

"Here I was thinking the girls would sleep together instead of two hormonal teens who happen to be dating," River teased. Jack's face flushed but he ignored his brother's (and sister's) knowing looks as he wrapped his arms around the redhead.

"Better behave yourself," Ash winked, only holding in her laugh because she didn't want to wake up Scarlett.

"Shut up," Jack huffed before they all drifted off to sleep, dreaming whatever dreams Sandy sent them with his golden dreamsand.

* * *

**AN: **I just wanted more bonding. Sorry for the late update, like I said I've been busy with school. And I got the nickname for Jack's sister from the ROTG wiki page. Leave a review if you have requests for a one-shot. I hope you enjoyed! Until next time...

**\- Kitkat Out!**


	7. Compare and Contrast

_*To make sure you don't get lost, Scarlett speaks first*_

"Mine is cuter."

"Nuh-uh! Did you see the picture of Bunny when he was tiny and adorable after the Easter Incident?"

"Well- okay, I guess you have a point there. But mine's hotter."

"He's the embodiment of Winter! He's the opposite of hot!"

"Then neither is yours!"

"Mine has a holiday named after him! All Jack can say is that he's mentioned in a song and is in a couple of movies."

"Speaking of movies, Bunny looked terrible in the Nightmare Before Christmas."

"At least my boyfriend was in that movie!"

"Um, what's going on?" Jack asked, interrupting Ash and Scarlett's argument. The two girls froze and turned to see both Jack and Bunny staring at them, both with confused yet entertained expressions on their faces. Ash cleared her throat and took a step back from Scarlett.

"Nothing!" The girls exclaimed in unison.

"Really? Sounded an awful lot like the two of ya were fighting over something," Bunny smirked. Ash rolled her eyes but said nothing.

"We were just doing a compare and contrast experiment," Scarlett stated as Jack draped his arm around her shoulders.

"Sssuuurrreee you were," Jack smiled teasingly as he gently pulled a strand of his girlfriend's red hair.

"We were. It just so happens the subject was the two of you," Ash's eyes lit up as she had an idea. She winked at Scarlett before she continued. "And as much as I hate being wrong, I've come to the conclusion that Scarlett's hypothesis was correct. She has the better boyfriend."

"No, my dear friend, your hypothesis was correct and your boyfriend is better," Scarlett ducked her head when Jack tried to flick her forehead, laughing as she started to run from him.

Ash wasn't far behind, and the two girls got a good ten-second start before Bunny and Jack processed what the girls had just said.

"Oi, what the bloody hell does that mean?!"

"Get back here, Red!"

* * *

**AN:** Very short but I just wanted to actually update this story.

**\- Kitkat Out!**


	8. Random Halloween Fluff

"What on earth is a festival of Samhain?" Scarlett asked as she looked at the different potions Jack had borrowed from North. It was Halloween night and she was looking for a potion that would turn her skin blue for North's annual Halloween party.

"It's what basically started Halloween. It's Celtic, so I thought you would have known about it," Jack teased as he dipped a paintbrush into a jar of black face paint before he looked into the mirror in Ash's bathroom. His skin was already pale enough he didn't need a potion like his girlfriend so he just had to add a couple of finishing details. Ash was in the other room getting ready and River was...somewhere or another.

"Ha, ha. It's only been a year since I found out, so don't judge me for not knowing every last Celtic-related thing," Scarlett deadpanned as she finally found what she was looking for. "How did you hear about this festival?"

"Well, I've always paid close attention to the legends and folklore involving the undead, just to see how true it was. Mortals believed the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurry and could be crossed on All Hallow's Eve. People build altars and have a ton of fun," Jack explained. "When I realized the Samhain festival was Celtic, I thought I'd see if you knew about it. Which you don't."

"Cut me a little slack and help me zip up my dress," Scarlett gulped down the potion and her skin turned a light shade of blue, marred only by the black stitches she had painted on earlier.

Jack smirked and brushed her long, red hair aside to kissed the nape of Scarlett's neck before he zipped up the dress that seemed to be made up of different types of fabric all sewn together. Scarlett's cheeks flushed as the Winter Spirit spun her around to face him. "You look perfect, as usual, Red. Or should I say _Sally_?"

"Thank you, Jack _Skellington_," Scarlett giggled as she swept her eyes across Jack. He'd worn the costume a couple of years prior but was perfectly fine wearing the skeleton from the Nightmare Before Christmas movie's costume again if it meant matching Scarlett's Sally costume. She straightened Jack's bat bow-tie. "You're not so bad yourself."

"Why don't we stay in tonight?" Jack suggested with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Before his blushing girlfriend could answer, they heard someone clear their throat. The duo turned to see Ash and River, both of whom stood in the doorway. Jack sighed then took a step back to put a "respectable" distance between him and Scarlett. "Or not."

"You're both gonna make me sick," River gagged. He was dressed up as the Joker from Suicide Squad, and while it was difficult, he'd dyed his black hair green. And right beforehand, he drank one of North's potions to give the Summer Spirit the same complexion his brother had.

The four Seasonals had considered doing costumes that all had the same theme, but Ash had wanted to do something else with Bunny so that idea was thrown out of the window. Literally. River had written the idea down on a piece of paper, crumpled it up, and threw it out a window.

"Please tell me Bunny and I aren't like that," Ash pleaded as she pulled her hair into a tight bun. She wore a black leather one-piece outfit with dark green accents and the silver shoes that had belonged to her character's dead sister. On her had was a black witch's hat with the words 'Wicked' sewn into the material with neon green thread. She would have made a pretty good wicked witch of the west had her skin been green.

"No, your boyfriend's hearing is too good for that. He'd stop whatever you two were doing before anyone ever saw you," River joked. Ash rolled her eyes before she spotted the potion bottles.

"Are there any emerald green ones?" Ash asked. Scarlett nodded her head and tossed her a vial. "Thanks. I want to match Bunny's jacket."

"I'm still not sure who he's gonna be. A flying monkey? Wouldn't be much of a costume if you ask me," River ducked his head to avoid getting hit by a boomerang. "Hey! Take a joke, will you?"

"It was hard enough talking him into wearing the costume, and neither you nor Jack are gonna say anything that'll offend him, got it?" Ash glared at the two boys, and since they didn't want to die that night, they both agreed.

"Fine, we promise. No messing with the kangaroo."

"The rabbit is safe. Tonight, anyway."

The group headed to North's right before the party was supposed to begin. Tooth spotted the group first and excitedly flew over to them. "Hi, guys! You all look amazing!"

"So do you, Tooth," Scarlett commented. Tooth had taken on a temporary glamor to look human, with caramel brown skin, hair that was the same colors as her feathers, and her wings were nowhere to be seen. She had on a white peasant blouse covered by a black vest with red flowers embroidered on the border, and with a black skirt to match. Tooth carried a small wicker basket and had gotten a pair of ruby slippers that matched the red hood she'd gotten so she could be Little Red Riding Hood. "It suits you, but where's the big, bad wolf?"

"Well, she's not very big, or very bad, but she's trying," Tooth replied as Baby Tooth popped out of the basket, with small wolf ears sewn onto a very tiny hair tie that laid on the little fairy's head while she had a small black bead at the tip of her long nose. Around her waist was a slightly larger hair tie with tufts of gray-blue fur glued to it. Ash squinted for a moment as the fairy zipped around.

"Is that...Bunny's fur?"

"Yes, he was very generous and offered to give her a little. Doesn't she look adorable?"

"Definitely," Jack confirmed, and Baby Tooth squealed in delight and flew around Jack's head once or twice before she went back to the basket. "Where's North and the others?"

"Over here, my boy!" North bellowed. The group turned to see North, dressed entirely in black with a katana strapped to his back and a red band that wrapped around his head. His beard was shoved into the black ninja head mask he wore but wisps of white hair had managed to escape and could be seen as clear as day. Beside him stood Sandy, who had used his golden sand to make him look like a knight in shining armor.

And then there was Bunny. River and Jack remembered their promise otherwise they would've burst out laughing. Bunny had his arms crossed and blatantly avoided everyone else's gaze. He had on a green jacket with golden egg-shaped buttons, a golden scepter in his paw with an emerald green egg at the top, and he held egg-shaped glasses in his other paw. ***Reference to the **_**Guardians of Childhood book 2: E. Aster Bunnymund and the warrior eggs at the Earth's core**_**. Google it if you want to know what his costume looks like* **

"I can't believe you talked me into this," Bunny muttered as Ash walked up to him. "I look ridiculous."

"No, you look the Wizard of Oz and you even have the glasses that make everything look green in Emerald City," Ash stated as she grabbed the glasses and placed them on Bunny's face. North beckoned the rest of the group to follow him to leave the two spring beings alone. Everyone else headed downstairs to a giant rec room decorated in the best Halloween decorations anyone had ever seen. ***I'm leaving how it looked to you, dear Reader***

"It ain't as obvious as your costume, Darlin'," Bunny looked Ash up and down, a soft smile on his face as he admired his girlfriend's beauty. "You look gorgeous."

"And you look dashing," Ash replied, ignoring the blush that made it's way to her face. "Stick with me and everyone will know who you're supposed to be. Besides, you said you wore this all the time. Why are you so hesitant now?"

"It's been eons and that was before I knew anything about style. Plus your brothers-"

"-Promised to leave you alone," Ash cut off Bunny with a reassuring smile. "Now, let's go have a good time."

"We could have a good time elsewhere," Bunny muttered, though it took a few seconds for the realization to dawn on him that what he'd just said could be taken...in several ways. "I mean, not like that!"

"Too bad. I was gonna say we could go back to my place afterward for a movie night but if you aren't interested," Ash smirked as she began to walk away, only for a paw to reach out for her.

"Fine, I guess I can put up with these blokes for a bit. But afterward...?"

"We'll see, Handsome."

* * *

"You escaped me. Again."

'_Not this guy again,'_ Jack thought as he turned around to see Death, still in the same black robe he'd seen him twenty or so years ago. Scarlett had promised River a dance so he'd been left on the sidelines near one of the snacks tables. "Hey, Death. What's up?"

"I almost had you with Pitch. But you once again avoided your fate," Death stated in the most monotone voice Jack had ever heard. "Then again when that precious girlfriend of yours intervened."

At the mention of Scarlett, Jack gripped his staff so tight his knuckles turned white. He knew why Death was after him, though he hadn't the first time Jack had met the terrifying being. But now he knew; it was because Manny had saved him when the young Spirit fell through the ice all those years ago. And during interactions with Pitch, Jack's life had been threatened more than once.

But the time with Scarlett ...Jack could see why Death would be a tad bit upset about missing a golden opportunity to finally claim the Winter Spirit's soul. "Leave her out of this."

"I would, but you see, she escaped me once before as well. As did her father. But we both know I got what I wanted in the end. I always do," Death replied sinisterly. Before Jack could retort, he felt a hand grab his and entwined their fingers. He turned to his left to see Scarlett, a frown on her face.

"We didn't escape; we simply weren't meant to die. And if you know what's good for you, you'll avoid messing with either one of us from now on. Don't know if you've heard, but we're Guardians now. And I doubt our friends would be too happy to hear you've been threatening us, the youngest and newest to the group," Scarlett stated firmly then walked off, with Jack in tow.

Once they were far enough away, Scarlett sighed and went to let go of Jack's hand, but he just tightened his grip slightly. "You sure do make me look bad, Red. What kind of guy lets his girlfriend save the day all the time? Let me have a turn."

"Not my fault you always need saving," Scarlett teased. Jack smiled softly and kissed her gently. "But if that's my reward, I call dibs on rescuing you. Always."

"Whatever you say, Red."

* * *

River stood near the back of the room beside April Fools. Her pink hair was pulled into pigtails and the left side of her hair had been dyed a bright sapphire blue. April was dressed as Harley Quinn (from Suicide Squad), a perfect match to River's costume.

River hadn't told his siblings that he was one-half of a couple's costume simply because he hadn't wanted them to tease him or ask questions. Truth be told, he wasn't entirely sure what he and April were, but she'd suggested they wear matching costumes. And River wasn't about to go and argue with her.

"You look great," River muttered shyly. April's face flushed slightly and she murmured a 'you too' before the two spirits fell into an awkward silence.

Before River could come up with a way to somehow save their conversation, a voice cut the silence. "Hey, guys, what's up?"

It was Jack, followed by Scarlett and Ash.

"Nothing much. Good to see you lot again," April replied. Ash and Scarlett exchanged mysterious looks at the music conveniently changed into a softer, slower tune.

"Oh, I love this song!" Scarlett exclaimed as she grabbed Jack's arm and pulled him onto the dance floor. Jack waved quickly, a smirk on his face as he mouthed 'good luck'.

"Me too! I have to go find Bunny!" Ash winked as she walked off. River took his siblings' _subtle_ hint and turned towards April.

"Did you want to dance?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

**AN:** I feel like I say this every time I post, but sorry for the late update. Figured that since it was just Halloween, I might as well do a Halloween one-shot without much plot but there's a couple of references to some chapters of my ROTG one-shots and drabbles story. I just wanted fluff and some suggestive content, okay? I hope you enjoyed and until next time…

\- **Kitkat Out!**


	9. Traditions don't change they evolve

**Pre-Chapter AN:** Before you read this, I (Kitkat) want you to know that I tried very hard to be historically accurate when it comes to different cultures. I tried to use reliable sources via the internet for this stuff and did the best I could. Now please enjoy this chapter.

* * *

**The Three Seasonals' Traditions: **

Before Jack became a Guardian, he spent every Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with his siblings. And while Jack didn't know he had a past life, he did know the time period he'd been 'born' into as well as the usual traditions that took place during the holidays.

Families would decorate trees together, sing Christmas-themed hymns, and play in the snow all day. Then at night, regular mortal children tried to stay up as late as possible to try and catch Santa Claus (aka Nicholas St. North) while they drank hot cocoa and ate cookies.

But Jack wasn't exactly a regular teen/young adult. So he hadn't been quite sure what he'd do for his first Christmas. Lucky for him, he had met Ash and River, who had been through a great many holiday seasons during their immortal life. After all, they were a whole century older than dear Jack.

Ash had grown up in France, where they tended to have a small party at midnight on Christmas Eve. Kids would leave their shoes by the fireplace for Pére Noël (again, North) to place little goodies for her and her brothers. And there was King's Day, where a traditional pastry called Galette des Rois was made with a secret ingredient; a small fève (a porcelain figurine). Each person at the party got a small slice, and whoever's slice had the fève would be declared king and they wore a small paper crown until Christmas had ended.

Meanwhile, River was Japanese, and when he was a boy, well, Christianity was exactly allowed. His family, though, didn't live like most of the other people in Japan. They were a part of a secret religious group known to some as Kakure Kirishitan that went underground after the Shimabara Rebellion. They had to wait until it was dark and mutter their prayers under their breath as well as give their offerings to an altar that was cleverly hidden as a panel for the wall. Figurines of biblical characters, such as Jesus and Mary were disguised to look like Buddha.

River had never understood why his family had to keep their faith a secret but had followed along anyway. They weren't able to really celebrate Christmas like other countries, but he was told stories of Mr. Santa and would eagerly wait to see the infamous sleigh go past his window. River never did, but neither did any other child so he felt a little better about himself.

When Ash and River had met, they'd incorporated a bit of both their cultures. They would do the whole King's Day thing, set up an altar to pray and give offerings to their ancestors, and just laughed and talked throughout the night. When the sun rose, they then exchanged little gifts. That was their Christmas.

But then Jack came into their lives. And Jack had wanted to have a new tradition, one that included him and the stuff people in Burgess did for the holidays. So the three Seasonals put their heads together to try and think of what to change.

It didn't change too much, though. They just added the stuff Jack wanted to do to the tradition they'd already had. They decorated a tree with fancy ornaments and played in the snow for hours after they gave one another presents.

And while in France people would leave their shoes out for good ol' North, since neither RIver nor Jack ever wore shoes, Ash had never thought to practice that particular custom nor did she see fit to try and use stockings either. She was the only one who ever wore socks, so that too was pointless.

Yes, the three Seasonals, made up of two brothers and a sister, had a bunch of fun during Christmas. And they would continue this tradition for the next three hundred years.

* * *

**The Four Guardians' Traditions: **

Christmas Eve was (and still) is North's busiest time of the year. After a long night of delivering gifts, he usually spent the next day sleeping, which meant the Guardians usually didn't get to celebrate the holiday until December twenty-sixth.

Despite the fact that Bunny knew deep down he'd never be able to skip the festivities, every year he would try to come up with some excuse to get out of celebrating. But to North, Easter was never as important as Christmas, so the Russian saw no reason to delay Easter preparations for a day or two.

So for a little while, Bunny would have to put up with his holiday rival. It wasn't that bad, after all, Bunny always got to have as much eggnog as he could drink. Tooth would always brew a special herbal tea that didn't stain teeth while Sandy had coffee (decaf, of course) and North drank a peppermint white Russian cocktail.

Then the four of them would tell stories, some either completely fabricated or exaggerated greatly before they exchanged gifts by the fireplace. The interesting yet untrue stories would then morph into tales of fond memories, some from the past year or just some that made the Guardians think of during the holiday season.

Bunny told stories of Pookas, who every winter would gather around and tell stories just like Bunny and his friends did year after year. The Pooka warriors would brag about their victories, tell the more kid-friendly tales about their battles when the young ones were around, and just have a grand time laughing and talking.

Tooth mostly talked about memories, how her mother would brew the tea the fairy queen was so fond of, and how her father would help her find trinkets that he had hid around the house for her to find.

Sandy never really did holidays before he met the Guardians, and he didn't know many people beforehand. So he usually sat back and listened to what his friends had to say for many hours. Eventually, one of them would suggest they play charades, and Sandy would laugh whenever his friends got confused or frustrated when he won time and time again.

At the end of the night (though by that point, it was early morning), North would take them to the dining hall, where they'd have a great big feast. Once everyone was stuffed to the brim, North would partake in a traditional Russian activity; fortune-telling.

He wasn't very good at it, but the large man tried so hard his friends could never bring themselves to tell North that the card was either upside down or that he was misinterpreting the meaning.

The four Guardians only got to enjoy each other's company a few times throughout the year. But the traditions that always came with Christmas gave the four enough memories to cherish and hold onto till the next time they saw one another.

* * *

**The Three Danaan's Traditions: **

Scarlett couldn't remember everything about her parents and the different holidays they spent together. But if there was one day of the year she remembered better than anything, it was Christmas day.

Years later, Scarlett would finally realize why her parents insisted that she should know why they did things according to Celtic tradition. They would burn a Yule log for good luck, decorate the house with holly and ivy to keep bad spirits away, and mistletoe was for both health and magical properties.

Their tree was always called a Yule tree, with candles (plastic to avoid fires) and solar objects that represented different Celtic gods and goddesses. And there was, of course, gifts piled underneath the tree which would lay in wait for a certain redhead to open early on Christmas morning.

The night before, on Christmas Eve, the youngest of the O'Brien family would light a candle that would then be placed in the window. Her father said it was to keep bad spirits away, as they couldn't stand anything light and cheery.

But Scarlett's mother had a different explanation. It was a beacon of hope for anyone who passed by, a welcome sign for those in need. It represented the love and warmth of a home and the people who lived inside.

When Scarlett was young, she liked to believe that Santa Claus would see it and know he was welcome to come in their home, take a break from his long journey. And the second time she met Jamie, Scarlett told him about how she always lit a candle and both him and Sophie loved the idea. Of course, by that point, Scarlett's parents had both died.

Even after her parents' death, Scarlett tried to honor their memory by doing what they did every Christmas. She found holly, ivy, and mistletoe and covered as much of the orphanage as she could. She'd light a small candle and place it in the window right by her bed, and she would sometimes pretend it would guide her parents' spirits to Scarlett.

While two of the immortals known as Danaan died, one still remained. Scarlett lived on and continued her family traditions. Then she passed them onto Jamie, Sophie, and the other Burgess children. So in a way, there were still three Danaan left in the world.

* * *

**The Seven Dwarves- I mean, Kids' Traditions:**

Jamie, Sophie, Pippa, Cupcake, Monty, Claude, and Caleb all had little things that their parents did differently around the holidays. But for the most part, it was all the same.

Mid-November, they would all write their letters to Santa Claus as a group and compared what they wanted with each other before they gave their lists to their parents to send to dear ol' Saint Nick.

After weeks and weeks of waiting and waiting, Christmas Eve would finally arrive. Jamie and Sophie always drank hot chocolate and watched funny Christmas movies, like Rudolph, Elf, Frosty the Snowman, etc. Then Scarlett would always call to talk to Jamie and Sophie right before they were _supposed_ to go to bed.

But once their parents were asleep, Jamie and Sophie would sneak down to the living room and sit on the couch right by the fireplace. Beforehand, Jamie always passed out walkie-talkies to his friends the day before Christmas Eve as part of their 'mission' to stay awake and catch Santa Claus. They'd even gave themselves code names, for whatever reason, so they felt more like spies.

Jamie was Mr. Believer (because he believed in everything), Pippa was Snow (because of her white hat), Claude and Caleb were Things 1 and 2 (because they were twins and weren't very creative), Monty was Bravestone (kid liked to pretend he was brave) and Cupcake was Filly (like a horse). Sophie had none because Jamie only had six walkie-talkies, and the twins already had to share. To make her happy, Jamie called her the Hoppy fairy (combined her love of bunnies that hopped and fairies). Not that it mattered, because the Hoppy Fairy was always the first to fall asleep every Christmas Ever

Unfortunately, the children weren't aware that Sandy was hard at work every Christmas Eve to keep children (and parents) fast asleep so North would never get caught. One by one, each of the children felt their eyelids grow heavy as they drifted off to sleep.

While they were each disappointed that their mission was a bust, all of the Burgess Bunch were way too ecstatic when they got to rip off the wrapping paper of gifts they all got to open. After a morning packed with excited yelling and exhausted parents, the children went outside to play in the snow.

Jamie and Sophie would meet the others in the park, and it wouldn't be long until they had started to throw snowballs at one another. Their tradition wasn't that different from most of the children in the world, but to the seven children who lived in Burgess, it was special and something only they shared.

* * *

****The Fifteen Friends' Traditions:****

After the events of the _Rise of the Guardians_ movie, _Autumn's Orphan_, and _Bunny's Springflower_, it was safe to say that a new Christmas tradition was in order.

Ash suggested that the Seasonals go to her cottage on Christmas Eve, especially since the Guardians would be busy that night anyway. Before they did that, though, they dropped off small gifts for North to deliver the Burgess kids along with his usual presents.

Then Ash, River, and Jack did everything they usually did but made sure to put holly, ivy, and mistletoe all around the house. Since Scarlett was the youngest of the group, she still got to light the candle and put it in the window like she always did. While they ate Galette des Rois, they took turns telling Christmas stories from their mortal lives, and some from when they were immortal (except Scarlett because she had none).

And though it was meant to be a joke, they put up stockings Mother Nature made for each of them for North. It wouldn't be until morning that they realized North had left little gifts in the stockings, and left four neatly wrapped gifts under the tree that stood out from the ones the Seasonals had wrapped.

After they opened their presents from one another (and the ones from North), Ash transported them to Burgess to play with the kids in the snow. Scarlett got to introduce Ash, River, and Jack to Mrs. Bennett, who gave them each a handful of cookies.

Then after some thank you from the children, Jamie and his friends gave their gifts for each of the Seasonals along with some small packages that needed to be delivered to the Guardians.

That afternoon, Jack and Scarlett received a summons to the North Pole. Along with Ash and River, they arrived in the main room where Bunny, Tooth, Sandy, and North awaited them with even more gifts.

The Seasonals couldn't remember the last time they had gotten so many presents in one day, or heard so many stories from their new Guardian friends. Jack's stomach hurt by the end of the night from all his laughing, and Scarlett couldn't remember the last time she'd had so much fun just listening to her friends' adventures.

Bunny and North argued over who could tell the best story, but at the end of the night, they were just happy to have such an enthusiastic audience. And Tooth was over the moon because finally, she wasn't the only female in the group. Her, Ash, and Scarlett got to joke about things the guys didn't understand, something the men had gotten to do for centuries with their jokes going completely over Tooth's head.

And Sandy...well, finally, he had people who were actually good at charades, like Scarlett and Jack. It made things an interesting night, to say the least. Though the mistletoe made it even better, especially when Phil took pictures of poor Bunny and Ash, as well as Jack and Scarlett, all of whom got trapped beneath the mistletoe.

Had April Fools been there, then all of the Seasonals would have most likely gotten their pictures taken. Lucky for River, she had been too busy to join the group.

Later that night, they all ate as much as they could at North's feast before they saw him try to tell their fortunes. Scarlett wasn't sure if she believed it or not, but with how dramatic and serious North acted, it made Scarlett think that maybe what he said would come to pass. The others didn't, but they did appreciate the effort North put into the fortune-telling act.

If there's a lesson to be learned here, it's this; traditions don't change, or stop, just because you have more people in your family than you did the year before. They merge together and evolve into something new, something better.

Okay, enough with the sappiness. This chapter is getting a little too sweet for the Author, so let's just say the Guardians had a merry Christmas.

If you (the Reader) don't celebrate that holiday, that's okay. The Man in the Moon knows this and respects all the different winter holidays. Or if you don't celebrate anything, he respects that too. He does want to ask that you don't leave a review complaining about the name of the holiday the Author chose to use for this one-shot.

North called it 'Christmas' in the original ROTG movie, so the Author is just going off of that and isn't trying to exclude anyone. And the Man in the Moon hopes that you (again, the Reader) understands that.

* * *

**AN:** I know it's been well over a month or two since I updated and I'm sorry again. Finals came up so I had to wait until they were over before I could post this. But hey, at least it's the holidays so this one-shot is more relevant. Merry/Happy whatever holiday you celebrate if any and a happy New Year!

**\- Kitkat Out!**


	10. It's Always Jack's Fault

_Italics_ **is the story/the past while** regular **font is the present day.**

* * *

_When Ash hacked into the elevator to get to Cupid's place, Ash acted like a pro, as if she had done it plenty of times. Which she had, and it all started on one sunny day in March. _

"_Happy birthday!" Jack exclaimed as he shoved a badly wrapped box into Ash's hands. Ash looked at the green wrapping paper, torn in certain spots covered by clear tape, and had been loosely tied together with a white ribbon. _

"_...thank you, Jack," Ash replied as she gently untied the bow and tried to conceal her hesitation with a big grin. "You didn't have to get me anything, you know."_

"_Yeah, I did. You got me this awesome hoodie for my birthday," Jack glanced down at his blue, frost-covered hoodie. He had worn it every day since Ash had given it to him, and she had a feeling he would continue to wear it for years to come (which he did). "So I had to get you something just as cool."_

_Ash ripped off the wrapping paper to reveal a shiny, brand-new tablet. "What- how did you get this?!"_

"_I have my ways," Jack winked mischievously. Ash shook her head and decided it was better to not know how Jack got his hands on the piece of technology. "You said you wanted something to draw on, so I got one that's supposed to be compatible with cool art apps and it even has a stylus."_

"_I see that," Ash laughed at Jack's excitement, and twirled the emerald green stylus in the air. "Thank you. I love it."_

_Jack beamed proudly, unaware of the series of events that he had unintentionally caused. _

* * *

"Really? Do you have to be so dramatic?" Ash interrupted. Jack sighed. The Guardians had asked for Jack and Ash to tell them the story about how Ash learned to hack, and Jack had insisted on telling it because Ash tended to 'exaggerate'. "I mean, 'unaware of the series of events you had unintentionally caused?' Seriously? _You_ caused everything and some of it was very much intentional!"

"Who is telling the story?" Jack crossed his arms and glared daggers at Ash. She sighed and leaned against Bunny, the latter of whom patted her shoulder comfortingly before he leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"So your birthday is in March, huh? Anything in particular that you want?" Bunny asked, both as a way to calm her down and to figure out what to get his girlfriend for her birthday. She chuckled and mouthed the word '_later'_ then waved her hand at Jack to tell him to continue the story.

"Now, if there are no more interruptions…"

Ash rolled her eyes but remained silent as Jack continued his tale. Though, in all honesty, the story was more about Ash than it was about Jack. But she wasn't about to spoil her brother's fun, no matter how dramatic he was.

* * *

"_Ash!"_

_Ash groaned in annoyance but set down her tablet and looked at her brother expectedly. "What is it, Jack?"_

"_I need you to help me with something," Jack stated. "I made an email- don't look at me like that, I'm just getting with the times- but I forgot my password."_

"_What does that have to do with me?" Ash asked. Jack smiled sheepishly before he looked around as if somebody was listening in on them despite the fact that the two Seasonals were in Ash's cottage. "This isn't gonna end well for me, is it?"_

"_Pssh, I don't know what you mean," Jack waved off her concern and leaned against the wall casually (or what he probably thought came across as casual). "I just want you to help me get into my email."_

"_How am I supposed to do that?"_

"_...by hacking into it? I mean, you have a tablet and I know you've got a computer somewhere. And you're always bragging about how great you are with technology," Jack hoped that Ash's ego would come out to play (for once) so he could get what he wanted. _

_Ash sighed, and while she knew full well what Jack was trying to do...she had to admit that it worked. _

"_Fine! Give me your username and I'll see if I can figure this out," Ash turned on her tablet and opened up an incognito tab to see if there was a Wikihow or something. _**AN: I know nothing about hacking so I'm going to be as vague as possible. And for whatever reason, there **_**is**_ **a Wikihow for hacking into some email website. I just thought I should mention it. **"_Wait, is your email account on the Immortal Web or the Mortal Web?"_

"_There's a difference?"_

"_For someone trying to get with the times, you'd think a teenage boy would know that there are two types of webs; one for the Spirit world and one for regular mortals."_

"_Shut up."_

_After about half an hour of googling different Wikihows/blogs, downloading apps, and making fun of Jack for his username, Jack_Frost_Is_Real, Ash managed to retrieve Jack's email password as well as his passwords for other websites. _

_Unfortunately for the Spirit of Spring, Jack spread the word about Ash's newfound hacking skills. One after another, spirits and other immortal beings came to her to ask for "small" favors. After she had realized that the pushy beings wouldn't quit bugging her until she complied, Ash gave in. _

_But she had made it clear to everyone that they only got to ask her for a hacking favor once every ten years (including Jack, who was upset because he hadn't been told that rule until after his request)._

_The requests varied from retrieving passwords (which, really, if people just saved their passwords to Google, nobody would have to bother Ash) to deleting stuff from social media and even messing with other people by editing their blogs. _

_Though Ash had complained, she had to admit to herself that it was kind of fun. Thrilling, even, because there was always the chance she'd get caught (either by mortals or immortals) yet she never did. _

_At one point, she wanted to hack into a website for reasons that aren't important (aka Jack didn't know nor did he care)._

_But somehow or another, she hacked into the FBI. And they were _not _happy about it. _

* * *

"How do you 'accidentally' hack into the FBI database?" Bunny looked at Ash incredulously, unsure if he should have been proud of her or slightly terrified.

Ash shrugged. "I was trying to hack into the FCI, the Fédération Cynologique Internationale aka the World Canine Organization. I made a typo and accidentally got into the FBI."

Bunny opened his mouth, but then shut it and just shook his head. Jack snickered at the astounded look on North's face before he continued the story.

* * *

_Thankfully, since Ash had been smart and used her account she'd made on the Immortal Web when she had hacked into the database (as she did every time she hacked into the Mortal Web, as opposed to when she hacked into the Immortal Web while she used a Mortal account). _**AN: I'm getting kind of tired of writing 'web' so much. **

_And that meant despite the efforts of the police and government, the trail went cold because, in their eyes, Ash didn't exist. Even so, she vowed to quit hacking...at least until she and a certain group of Guardians needed to get into Cupid's place. _

"_This is all your fault," Ash stated after she unplugged her computer and turned off her tablet. Jack looked around in confusion before he finally pointed a finger at himself. "Yes, you."_

"_How is this my fault?"_

"_You're the one that got me the tablet, Jackie." _

* * *

"So the lesson to learn from this is that it's always Jack's fault," Bunny smirked. Ash let out a laugh while Jack huffed indignantly and crossed his arms. "I mean, really? All that happened because ya couldn't be bothered to remember a password?"

"That is funny, but I have one question. Well, several actually, but this is my first one," North looked around at Jack, Ash, and Bunny before he continued. "What's an email?"

"I call dibs on _not_ explaining it!"

"Ash, come on!"

"You wanted to tell the story, so finish telling it," Ash grabbed Bunny's hand and told him to open a tunnel, which effectively left Jack to explain what an email was to the out-of-date Russian.

He sighed to himself as he scooted around to get more comfortable. '_This is going to take a while.'_

* * *

**AN:** This references chapter 7 from _Bunny's Springflower_. Let's be honest, if you haven't read my other stories, then you're probably already confused from the last nine chapters and hopefully have realized this is a sequel story. If you have any requests, leave a review or PM me. I hope you enjoyed! Until next time...

**\- Kitkat Out!**


	11. Girls' night out with nothing

"We were supposed to meet up with Tooth fifteen minutes ago," Ash stated exasperatedly as Scarlett rushed to put on her makeup.

"I know, I know. But one of my favorite authors, Reader4ever1, updated her fanfic and I guess I lost track of time," Scarlett smiled sheepishly as she gave herself smoky eyes. She backed away to get a good look at herself in the full-length mirror Ash had set up while the two women got ready.

Scarlett had chosen a burnt orange, off the shoulder dress that went a little past the knees with a small slit on the right side. Then she had put on a pair of knee-high black leather boots and a small black purse. She had on her ever-present locket and gold hoop earrings that matched the golden headband that held back her wild red hair. Scarlett had already put on gold eyeshadow with similar colored lip gloss.

In contrast, Ash had a sapphire one-shoulder Grecian-style dress that stopped an inch or so above the knee with silver wedges. A simple necklace Bunny had given her with a silver chain and an egg-shaped emerald rested on her collarbone, with small, circular emerald earrings. Scarlett had straightened Ash's dark brown hair before she had curled her own unruly scarlet-colored hair.

"You should read it. It's a crossover between two of my favorite things- the _Heroes of Olympus _book series and Disney's _The Little Mermaid _movie. It's all about Percabeth but has a bunch of other ships too. I can't believe it's almost complete."

"Yeah, yeah, bookworm, I'll check it out later," Ash grabbed Scarlett's arm and practically dragged the redhead outside. "If we weren't wearing dresses, we could catch a ride from East and West Winds."

"Good thing I borrowed a Snow Globe from North, then," Scarlett pulled out the small glass orb and whispered softly before she threw it in front of her and Ash. "Can't keep Tooth waiting any longer."

And with that, they walked through the portal and found themselves a few feet away from _Stella's_.

Tooth had complained for the last three weeks about not having any girl time with Scarlett and Ash, so Ash had the idea to go to a fairly new but already popular club for all spirits and immortal beings.

"Are you sure this club is such a good idea? I can't even drink, and if I do, Jack'll never let me hear the end of it."

"I told you, age doesn't matter as much as it does in the mortal world," Ash reassured as they searched the crowd for Tooth. "Bunny gave me a hard time about this too, but whatever happens at girl's night stays between us. Plus, I'll be here to keep an eye on you and Tooth."

"I think you guys tend to forget I'm older than both of you."

Scarlett and Ash turned around to see Tooth. Instead of her typical fairy-form (as she called it), Tooth had taken on a glamor, similar to the one she 'wore' on Halloween, with her feather-like hair was spiked up. Her make-up was simple yet the hot pink eyeshadow and lip gloss popped against her caramel skin.

Tooth wore a hot pink sequin dress with a halter-top neckline that reached Tooth's knees. She had on maroon heels that matched her maroon peacock feather earrings. Ash wolf-whistled jokingly, which made Tooth's face turned the same color as her dress. Tooth cleared her throat and tried to draw the attention from herself. "Thank you...I think. So this is the place?"

"Yep. Time to party and disappoint guys by telling them we have boyfriends," Ash smirked. Then she glanced over at Tooth and corrected herself. "Except you, Tooth. Maybe you'll find a guy tonight."

"Uh-huh. Sure," Tooth drawled as the three woman made their way inside. Scarlett grabbed a table while Tooth grabbed two piña coladas for the two of them. Ash had somehow made her way to the table first, beer in hand.

"Never took you as a beer drinker. Figured you'd want wine," Scarlett commented. Ash rolled her eyes and took a swig of her beverage as if to prove a point.

"Because I'm French and should be drinking wine? If I'm going to a club, I'm getting the good stuff," Ash looked over at the dance floor and shook her head, an amused smile on her face. "That, and beer is the only thing that can get me to dance at places like this."

"Ooh, are we dancing?" Tooth asked excitedly as she handed Scarlett one of the drinks. "I _love_ dancing."

Before Scarlett could come up with an excuse to avoid dancing, two average looking guys who didn't deserve an actual description in this story walked over to the table that the three women were at with creepy, obviously fake, smiles plastered onto their faces. The three women groaned mentally as the guys talked to Scarlett and Ash individually.

* * *

One of them slid up beside Ash and looked the brunette up and down before he spoke. "Do you believe in love at first sight? Or should I walk by again?"

"Oh great," Ash muttered under her breath as she frowned in annoyance. She tried to smile in what she hoped was a friendly, but not too friendly, manner. "I have a boyfriend."

"That's too bad because you owe me a drink." The first guy (Guy A) chuckled as he leaned in closer to Ash. "Because when I looked at you, your beauty overwhelmed me and I dropped my glass."

"How does that have anything to do with my having a boyfriend?" Ash asked, but Guy A either didn't care or didn't hear her over the loud music since he continued with the terrible pick-up lines.

"Your eyes are bluer than the Atlantic Ocean...and I don't mind getting lost at sea."

'_Manny, kill me now,' _Ash thought sullenly as she chugged down her beer so she didn't have to respond when Guy A continued to flirt with her.

* * *

Scarlett pitied Ash, but had her own problems with Guy B. Right off the bat, she announced that she had a boyfriend, but for whatever reason, Guy B didn't seem disappointed at all. In fact, it seemed as if Scarlett's words had just fed his determination. Though what he was so determined to do was lost on Scarlett.

"My buddies bet me that I wouldn't be able to start a conversation with the most beautiful person in the club. What should we do with their money?"

"Go ahead and feel my shirt. It's made of boyfriend material."

"Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?"

Scarlett's plan had been to ignore Guy B and hoped he would go away, but when she heard the last and most overused pick-up line in the history of the world, she had to respond. "No, but I scraped my knee crawling from hell."

Guy B blinked a couple of times before he smirked and got closer to Scarlett, close enough for her to smell the alcohol on his breath. "I love myself a bad girl."

* * *

Tooth watched the two guys hit on her friends and tried to ignore the jealousy that bubbled up inside her. She didn't envy her friends' situations, just the fact that neither of the men had tried to hit on the fairy. She knew there was nothing wrong with being single, but it wasn't like Tooth had gone out of her way to remain single. No one seemed interested in the Guardian just for her, not her title.

Had Tooth gone to the club in her fairy-form, she knew men would've paid attention to her. Which was the opposite of what the queen wanted. After a good ten minutes of being ignored, Tooth had enough and slammed her hand down on the table to get her friends and their unwanted suitors' attention.

"She," Tooth pointed at Ash," is dating Bunny. As in the Easter Bunny aka one of the Guardians. Trust me, you do not want to mess with him. Meanwhile, the redhead here is the girlfriend of Jack Frost, who's also a Guardian. Unless you want to invoke their boyfriend's wrath, I recommend you guys leave us alone."

Guy A and Guy B took one look at one another before they ran off to torment two other women in the club. Scarlett shot Tooth a grateful look, relieved that the guys had left. Ash finished her beer before she stood up and began to walk towards the dance floor. "Come on, ladies. We came to have fun, so we're going to have fun."

* * *

Scarlett laid down in her bed after she wiped the last remnants of makeup from her face, exhausted from all the dancing she'd been 'forced' to take part in. Though, she had to admit, it had been fun hanging out with Ash and Tooth.

Were it not for Guys A and B, Scarlett would've called it a perfect night.

Right as she was about to get settled in for the night, she heard a knock at her door. Scarlett sat up as Jack walked in, already wearing his ice-blue pajamas that were decorated with snowflakes. "Hey, Sleeping Beauty, before you take your hundred-year nap, I wanted to see how your girl's night went. Did something cool happen?"

"No," Scarlett bit her lip to keep herself from smiling and shook her head. She would tell her boyfriend about those guys...eventually. "Absolutely nothing happened."

* * *

Ash yawned and undressed herself once she got home. She threw her dress in her laundry hamper and put on comfy flannel pajamas before she went to remove her makeup.

Then the phone rang and she picked it up as she used a wet wipe to take off her eyeshadow and mascara. "Hello?"

"Hello, Darling," Bunny said. "Jack said ya went out earlier and I was curious to see what you'd done."

"You make it sound like I'm in trouble," Ash joked. "Tooth, Scarlett, and I went to that new club, Stella's."

"Knowing how ya act, I wouldn't be surprised if ya did do something. So anything interesting happen?"

"No" Ash replied with a yawn. She made a mental note to tell Bunny about the guys the next day but knew that if she wanted any sleep, she had to tell a small white lie. "Absolutely nothing happened."

* * *

Tooth went to North's and waved goodnight as Scarlett ran to the room North had given the redhead before she headed toward the main area. The fairy queen came across North as he read an old book in his chair beside the fireplace, which provided a dim light cast around an otherwise pitch-black room. He glanced up at Tooth and noticed how she slumped over to the couch and practically fell onto it.

"Hello, Toothy. Anything happen during your, uh, girls' night out?"

"No," Tooth deadpanned. "Absolutely nothing happened.

* * *

**AN: **I know the fanfiction story in the beginning seems a little out of place but that's an actual fanfic that was written by a friend of mine, Jade aka Reader4ever1, and it's nearly finished! So if you enjoy Heroes of Olympus and/or Disney's The Little Mermaid movie, you'll appreciate _The Little Merman_. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Until next time...

**\- Kitkat Out!**


	12. The French Lady vs The Russian Bandit

If there was one thing North knew, it was that he should never underestimate a French woman. Or any woman, really, but especially the French. How did he learn this lesson, you might ask? Well, it was one late afternoon at the end of January when two bored Seasonals dropped by the North Pole.

"So your boyfriends are away and you came to me?" North asked. Scarlett and Ash looked at one another and nodded their heads in unison.

"It's the end of winter and Jack wants to finish with one last blizzard," Scarlett stated. "Which means he doesn't have to entertain me."

"And since it's almost spring, Bunny's super busy with preparations. I mean, I am too, but it's not that hard to start spring. Winter and summer are the big seasons," Ash added. "So we thought we'd drop by and see what you were up to."

"Way to make me feel special," North grumbled. Scarlett smiled softly and patted North's shoulder comfortingly.

"Hey, we chose to come see you before Sandy, Tooth, _and_ River. That has to count for something," Scarlett looked around North's office. Along with trains made of ice, small tools, a chainsaw, and books, there wasn't much else of interest.

Ash, however, spotted something. "Are those playing cards?"

North nodded slightly as he plucked up one of his trains and began to chip at it with a small screwdriver. "You two may borrow them and play Go Fish or Rummy or something like that. Anything to get you two out of my hair."

"Come on," Scarlett begged. "Christmas is over and you have months before you have to start working again!"

"That is true, but-"

"But nothing. You just don't want to admit that you're going to lose," Ash hid a sly smile as she picked up the cards and began to drag Scarlett out of the room. "Let's go find someone who knows how to play poker, or maybe blackjack."

"Oh, you think I don't know how to play, huh?" North placed his train down, and snatched back the deck. "Well, I'll show you. Whoever wins the most rounds of whichever game we play is declared the victor! Deal?"

Ash smirked and winked at Scarlett, who looked slightly confused but excited at the same time. "Deal."

* * *

"And that, ladies, is how you win yet another round of poker," North grinned as he pulled his chips closer to him. Scarlett huffed and leaned back in her chair with irritation written on her face. **AN: I don't know how to play poker or most card games so I'm keeping this as vague as possible.**

Ash rolled her eyes but bit her lip. One thing she had learned was that North liked to brag. A lot. He had this cocky smirk on his face as he took a swing of vodka. As much as Ash hated to admit it, he was good. _Really_ good. And the man knew how to handle his alcohol too. She'd hoped he'd be thrown off his game if he had alcohol in his system; unfortunately, that was not the case. "We get it, you're good. Really good. Now let's go again."

"I don't know, maybe we should call it a day. We've been at this for a couple of hours," Scarlett suggested. She didn't mind winning but North seemed to be a great example of a sore winner. She'd never met someone like that, and while she adored North, it was a little difficult to keep herself from trying to slap him upside the head from time to time.

"Ah, well, you two gave it your best shot. Why don't we just agree that I am unbeatable."

"North-" Ash began, but North ignored the annoyed tone in Ash's voice and kept on talking.

"I mean, it's not your fault, of course."

"Please stop."

"After all, Russians are the best when it comes to cards. Especially when they're ex-bandits like myself. I had an unfair advantage."

"Alright, that's it. We're playing again," Ash stated firmly, an edge to her voice. North cocked an eyebrow out of confusion but simply shrugged and began to shuffle the cards. Scarlett gave Ash a questioning look but the brunette ignored her, lost in her thoughts. '_Why don't we just see who's the best at cards?'_

* * *

Ash smiled wickedly and pulled half of the chips out of the pot (middle of the table). "Oh lookie there. I do believe the tables have turned."

"Yay!" Scarlett exclaimed. She had decided to root for Ash to win as Scarlett had already given up any hope she had of winning the game. Somewhere in the Warren, Bunny frowned as he felt his fellow Guardian lose hope, unaware that his girlfriend was the cause of said lack of hope. "That's the third time in a row!"

"Hmph!" North pouted as he crossed his arms. "Beginner's Luck."

"Aw, don't be like that," Scarlett tried to keep a grin off her face as 'comforted' North. "Jealousy doesn't look good on you."

"I am not jealous!"

"Sure you aren't," Ash nudged Scarlett's arm before she spoke again. "You gave it your best shot. Ready to give up?"

North's face turned as red as Rudolph's nose as his words were thrown back at him. But being the stubborn ex-bandit, North refused to admit defeat.

* * *

"That is not possible! We already used four aces. There's no more left!" (North)

"North, that was the last round. We've only used two so far." (Scarlett)

"Accusing me of cheating? Little childish, isn't it?" (Ash)

"I am not a child! I am a Guardian of children. It's different!" (North)

"Whatever you say. Hey...wanna make a bet?" (Ash)

"Oh no. This won't end well."

"...what did you have in mind?" (North)

"Whoever gets all the chips in the end gets to make the losers do whatever they want. Well, not Scarlett. She's honestly just a cheerleader at this point. Do we have a deal?" (Ash)

"Hey! I'm not...I mean...you're right but you don't have to say it!" (Scarlett)

"Deal." (North)

"This is a terrible idea. I can't wait to see what happens." (Scarlett)

* * *

North glanced at Ash, then Scarlett, before he returned his attention to the cards in his hand. He cleared his throat and took a sip from his second vodka bottle (he finished the first one quickly after Ash began to win). With a smile, he looked straight into Ash's blue eyes. "Well?"

Ash examined her cards, her face scrunched up in concentration. She bit her lip and tapped the table as she thought about her next move.

Meanwhile, Scarlett was on the edge of her seat as she waited for Ash to say something. If Ash called his bluff and he didn't have the cards he said he did, then she won the game and the bet. But if he did have the cards...Ash would lose. And if the Spirit of Spring lost, Scarlett knew that North would hold this over both their heads for who knows how long.

"I'm calling it."

North groaned and slammed his cars down on the table. Ash laughed with glee and pulled all the remaining poker chips towards her. "How? I was doing so well earlier!"

"Who cares? She won!" Scarlett got out of her seat and hugged the older woman happily. North muttered under his breath words that were definitely not kid-friendly.

"Tell me how you went from being average to astounding!" North demanded. Ash just shook her head and smiled mischievously.

"Perhaps Russians aren't as good as they think they are," Ash winked and began to head out the door. Before she left, though, she turned back to look North dead in the eye. "Either way; never underestimate the French, _Monsieur Russe_."

**AN: Okay, I have nothing against Russians and/or the French. I just thought it'd be fun to have a little rivalry between the two immortals because of what country they came from. This was all in good fun.**

* * *

"Hey, Red. What's up?" Jack asked. Scarlett beamed and hugged her boyfriend once he landed on the ground beside his lake, directly in front of the redhead.

"I'm so glad to see you!" Scarlett smiled. "You have to hear about what happened at North's."

After a few minutes of explaining how Scarlett had spent her afternoon, Jack laughed and shook his head in amusement. "I should've warned you; Ash is great at playing cards. She grew up as a lady, you know, like the nobility kind? And she had to spend hours in these parlors or whatever they're called and play games with other nobility. Even the newer games that weren't around in her time period. The girl is definitely a fast learner."

"That makes so much sense. You know, North had said something about Russians being great at cards right before Ash started to win. You think that had something to do with it?"

"Probably," Jack admitted. "She's pretty proud of her country. "I can't say I'm surprised the French lady beat the Russian bandit."

* * *

**AN: **I want to do a one-shot for Valentine's but I don't have a lot of ideas. If someone could recommend something in the reviews, that'd be great! I appreciate the help and I'll make sure to include a shout-out (if you don't want one, PM me the idea and I'll just say I had an anonymous helper or something). I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Until next time...

**\- Kitkat Out!**


	13. Blame it on Eros

It's a little known fact in the Spirit World that there are actually two cupids. Strange, isn't it? One of which is the ancient Greek/Roman god, known to some as Eros and others as Cupid. The other is a sweet and pure cupid who goes around making love happen and was part of the reason why a certain boogeyman changed his evil ways.

One cupid is the ex-boyfriend of Ashlynn Mae and the other cupid is the girlfriend of Pitch Black. To help you (the reader) keep track, we'll refer to the ex-boyfriend as Eros and the girlfriend as Cupid. She deserves the name a lot more than Eros does, but you didn't hear it from me.

Now that we're all caught up, let's get right into the story!

* * *

It was the first Valentine's Day where Jack actually had a girlfriend and him. Was. Terrified. The Spirit of Winter had planned dates before, of course, but they were simple and fun and never on a super important holiday that could and probably would be a big milestone in the young couple's relationship.

Okay, maybe Jack was overthinking things just a little. But he wanted the night to be perfect. He used his new connections with people, which was one of the many benefits of being a Guardian, and got reservations at this fancy restaurant for spirits and immortal beings called Chef Giovanni's. It had five-star reviews and Tooth had gone on and on about the incredible food (specifically, the sugar-free options) so Jack figured it was a good pick.

"You really didn't need to do all this. I would've been fine with a picnic or something," Scarlett stated as she smoothed the non-existent wrinkles on her dress. Rose-gold sequins covered the off-the-shoulder dress that nearly reached her knees and matched the rose-gold heels Scarlett had chosen to wear. Her locket rested delicately on her neck with a set of simple gold stud earrings to match, and there were a few strands of hair that had escaped the fancy, braided bun Scarlett thought looked "grown-up".

"I didn't have to, but I wanted to," Jack replied as they waited to be seated. There was a long line that led outside and Jack was glad he'd thought to arrive forty minutes before his reservation. He'd ditched his hoodie and pants for a simple navy blue dress shirt with a black dress jacket and matching slacks, and (surprisingly) even put on some black dress shoes. Not that he was happy about it. Jack kept shifting his weight from one leg to another, uncomfortable with how trapped his feet felt. "Besides, we always do that for dates. I wanted tonight to be special."

"And I appreciate that," Scarlett reassured and raised her hand to ruffle her boyfriend's hair before she stopped herself. Jack had used gel to keep his unruly hair under control and she hated to ruin his hard work so she settled with grabbing his hand.

Jack smiled nervously before an awkward silence fell over them. Scarlett sighed but before she could say anything, a waitress walked over to them. **(Her appearance is pointless to the story and I'm not creative so what she looks like is up to you, dear Reader).** "Sorry for the wait. Your table is ready now."

"Thanks...Candy," Scarlett hoped she hadn't misread the scrawled handwriting that spelled the waitress's name on her nametag. Though any concern Scarlett had of offending the young woman faded when the redhead noticed how Candy eye her boyfriend like a piece of meat. Scarlett bit her lip but said nothing. Jack had put in a lot of effort to make the evening special and being catty with the waitress would ruin it.

Plus...Scarlett couldn't deny that Jack was _very_ handsome and she couldn't exactly fault anyone for noticing when it was blaringly obvious to anyone who could see. So she kept quiet and walked alongside Jack to their table. Which was in between a table with clearly intoxicated men and a family with a toddler covered in spaghetti and a grumpy-looking baby.

'_This isn't going to end well,'_ Scarlett thought to herself as she sat down beside Jack. Candy went to fetch them water and the awkward silence continued. Scarlett reached out her hand and grabbed Jack's with a smile. "This was a great idea. I'm so glad you took me here."

"Well, you deserve only the best," Jack leaned in to kiss Scarlett before a hand clapped down on his shoulder and yanked him back into his seat. One of the men who sat at the table beside them laughed while another took a swig of his beer.

"Damn right she does. How'd you manage to get a babe like her?" The man said in a gruff voice. Jack glanced at Scarlett, his eyes screaming 'help me!' She shrugged before she felt sticky fingers tug at her hair. Scarlett turned around to come face-to-face with a little girl covered in tomato sauce and spaghetti noodles.

"May I help you?" Scarlett asked. The girl stuck out her tongue and waved off the redhead's question. So the Spirit of Autumn turned to the parents of the said child...who had happened to walk away, presumably to take care of their baby.

"I mean, she's a real knockout."

"No kidding. Better treat her right."

"And maybe you'll get lucky."

"Uh-huh," Jack murmured before he looked at his girlfriend, who's hair had quickly become undone by a child that had somehow ended up in Scarlett's lap. His eyes met hers and they came to a nonverbal agreement to hightail it out of the restaurant.

As Scarlett sat the messy girl back in her seat and went to stand up, Candy came by with their waters. And tripped over one of the drunk men's feet and spilled said water on Scarlett.

Needless to say, after some unsavory words, the young couple left the building. Once outside, Scarlett and Jack looked at one another in silence. Scarlett's damp hair was completely undone from its bun with tomato sauce blended in with her red hair and her dress was covered in water. Jack, on the other hand, had spilt beer on his shoulder courtesy of one of the drunken idiots and smelled of smoke.

Their eyes met and they burst out into laughter.

"Moon, this was a terrible date."

"I know!" Scarlett chucked as she began to wring her hair in hopes of some of the water coming out. "You tried so hard, though."

"Even if we'd been seated by normal people without a waitress who checked me out- thank you, by the way, for not freaking out- we were so awkward about it," Jack laughed before he took off his jacket and wrapped it around Scarlett's shoulders. "Why were we so nervous?"

"I don't know about you, but I've never had a boyfriend for Valentine's Day. There are so many expectations for it, I guess we kind of forgot to have fun. Ironic, isn't it, Mr. Guardian of Fun?" Scarlett teased. Jack rolled his eyes with a smirk.

"Guess so. Though FYI, I've never had a boyfriend for Valentine's Day either. For Christmas, yes, but that's a secret," Jack winked. Scarlett went to pull her hand away before Jack wrapped his arms around her waist. "Come on, Red, I'm just trying to lighten the mood."

"And I appreciate that, Shepherd boy. Now come on, let's go home and burn these clothes," Scarlett suggested. Jack nodded in agreement with a quick peck on the lips before he noticed a peculiar poster on the side of the window.

"Hey, look at that. I guess they put it up for Valentine's Day."

Scarlett turned to see a hot pink poster with bolded letters in white that spelled out '_Blame It On Cupid.' _"Wow. If I didn't know Cupid was such a sweetheart, I'd blame her for tonight."

"Well, we could always blame the Greek version of Cupid, aka Ash's terrible ex aka Eros."

"Sounds good to me. Tonight, we're going to blame it on Eros."

* * *

Contrary to Jack and Scarlett, both Ash and Bunny had been around the block before. Ash had her fair share of boyfriends, some of whom she dated on February 14th. Bunny had a few flings here and there, nothing serious, but had heard of the pressure that the dreaded day put on a couple. So they'd had an idea of how to celebrate without being nervous train wrecks like other couples *cough* Scarlett and Jack *cough*

Which meant they spent Valentine's Day doing what they always did; spar in the Warren. Bunny swept Ash off her feet (literally) and quickly deflected a hit from the brunette.

"Gotta say, I'm surprised ya didn't want to use powers. Or weapons," Bunny admitted as Ash grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back.

"It's Valentine's Day. I didn't want to humiliate you too badly," Ash said with a smirk before Bunny pushed her onto the ground. Gently, of course. Otherwise, he'd never hear the end of it.

"Haha," Bunny deadpanned. "I'm happy to hear ya don't want to humiliate somebody like me."

"You're not just somebunny...you're my bunny." Ash winked. The moment of confusion was enough for Ash to get on her feet and get a few hits in before he realized what she'd done.

"Ya did that on purpose. And by the way, that was a terrible pick-up line."

"Guess you don't want to hear that no bunny compares to you," Ash smiled sheepishly. Bunny groaned from mock annoyance.

"That one's even worse."

"Bet you can't do any better."

"I'm like a boomerang. I just keep coming back to ya."

"Oh, we're bringing in Aussie lines? Well then, are you Australian, because you meet all of my koalafications?" Ash asked as she swung at Bunny, who barely managed to dodge her fists.

"You're losing your touch."

"It's not my fault; you're so cute it's distracting," Bunny pinned Ash against a tree, her entire face as red as a rose. "Roses are red, violets aren't blue, there isn't any other girl who's prettier than you."

Ash sighed softly as Bunny caressed her face. "Fine. You win. I surrender."

Bunny leaned in and kissed her softly. "Can't help that I'm so charming. Ya know ya love it."

"I do. Now...wanna race to Paris and have some good wine before the day is over?" Ash suggested. Bunny pulled away and nodded eagerly.

"It's like ya read my mind."

The couple spent the next few hours running in the ancient tunnels. They would've gotten to France sooner had they not taken a bunch of detours to show off how long they could both run for.

Eventually, they made it to Paris and managed to sneak some wine and Ash transported some food from home for a quick picnic, a beautiful sunset in view...as well as the Eiffel Tower. Bunny huffed when he realized he would have to look at the home of Ash's ex-beau. And he made his discomfort known.

"I know it's not ideal, but Eros will be too busy taking care of Valentine's Day. He and Cupid made it so she had to deal with romance for the morning while he has afternoon/evening. We'll never even have to see him," Ash explained. Then every hair on her arm stood up and she watched as Bunny crouched down in a defensive stance. She turned around, ever so slowly, and she came face-to-face with Eros himself.

Ash cursed herself silently for making the classic mistake made in so many literary works of stating that the one thing she _didn't_ want to happen _wouldn't_ happen.

"What do you want, Eros?"

"Nothing, _darling_. I just wanted to pop by and say hello when I saw you two lovebirds here," Eros smirked. Bunny growled and Ash put her hand on his arm as a silent reminder to not maul her ex.

"Only I call her that. Now scram." Bunny demanded. Eros scoffed and attempted to put his arm around Ash. The keyword was attempted. Bunny twisted Eros' arm and shoved him, which caused the wanna-be Greek god to stumble before he (barely) managed to catch himself before he fell.

"Aw, is Bun-Bun jealous? How cute-" Eros was cut off by being pushed to the ground with a tall being staggering over him.

"I said to scram. I don't want ya anywhere near her. Understood?" Ash watched in awe as Eros ran off, though not before an indignant 'if I wasn't so busy I kick your scrawny butt!'

Bunny muttered something about annoying winged men who needed to do something not PG-rated while Ash sidled up to him and smiled slyly. "That was hot, you know?"

"It was?" Bunny asked in confusion before he caught onto the suggestive look in Ash's eyes. "I mean, it _was_."

"Just for that, why don't we go back to the Warren and you can get a special treat? A reward, even," Ash used the strap across Bunny's chest to pull him closer to her face. Bunny smirked and leaned in closely.

"Any special reason or is it just because I told off your ex?"

"Don't question it; just blame it on Eros."

* * *

Cupid's ears perked up and she paused in the middle of her story about all the love she had spread. Pitch, who had prepared a nice, quiet meal for them at his home (and hers, since Cupid had moved in), cocked one of his eyebrows in confusion. "Is something the matter?"

"No, I just thought I heard my name, but I think whoever said it changed their mind and said Eros' name," Cupid commented softly. She'd heard people curse her name plenty of times, either for making them fall in love too deeply (if there was such a thing) or for putting them through heartbreak.

But every time that happened, she'd just smile and pretend that mortals (or the occasional immortal) meant Eros instead of her. Honestly, it wasn't her fault that relationships didn't work out. She can only do so much to help love last. It was easier to pass the blame off on someone else, someone who shared the same title as her. "I blame Eros."

* * *

**AN:** Is anyone actually reading this story? I'm genuinely curious. When I started writing this one-shot, I had planned for it to be released on Valentine's Day, hence the rushed/random writing. Maybe if I have time I'll write a part 2 about River and April. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Until next time...

**\- Kitkat Out!**


	14. Just Keep Swimming - Dory, 2016

"Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just-"

"River, if you say that one more time, so help me I will send you to Antarctica," Ash grit her teeth in frustration. Scarlett had shown up at her door with an embarrassed smile on her face asking for swimming lessons. River had happened to drop by earlier so he'd somehow gotten roped into the lesson as well.

Ash understood that Jack had a...complicated relationship with water and hadn't asked why Scarlett didn't go to him for lessons, something the redhead was very grateful for.

"Finding Dory was such a great film," Scarlett commented absently as she sat on a rock and kicked her feet in the water.

They'd gone to Jack's lake, as it was the Seasonals' favorite hangout, though it felt strange to be there without the resident Spirit of Winter. Scarlett frowned as she thought about the melancholy look in his eyes when she'd mentioned wanting to finally learn how to swim. He'd recommended she go to Ash's before he came up with an excuse to leave.

Scarlett splashed water in her face to focus. She'd changed into a two-piece, vibrant red swimsuit with a skirted bottom and a ruffle crop top at Ash's before they went to the lake. Ash wore a high-collared one-piece swimsuit with leaves of various shades of greens covering the entire suit while River just had on navy blue swim trunks.

"Yea, it was. Ellen is great," River grinned before he splashed into the lake. Ash rolled her eyes and sat beside Scarlett. "Now, let's get started!"

"Hold on. She needs to learn the movements before she goes in," Ash chided before she turned to face the young Guardian. "In the water, you're going to have to move your arms in strokes. So just copy me."

"Okay," Scarlett replied. She'd seen people swim before, but had never gone through the proper steps of learning. It was somewhat intimidating, but she trusted Ash. And River, though in the back of her head she wondered if the older boy would try to just chuck her in the lake and called that teaching. **AN: I used a WikiHow article to figure out how to teach someone how to swim. Hopefully, it was accurate. **"Like this?"

Ash nodded, and they kept doing that for a few minutes while River demonstrated how to do it in the water. He swam over to the edge and looked up at the two girls. "You're doing great, Scar."

"I'm not an evil lion, River," Scarlett deadpanned. He scoffed but said nothing, just watching as Ash slowly dropped into the water and gripped the edge of the lake. "What are we doing next?"

"We're gonna practice kicking. Come into the water. We'll catch you if you slip," Ash replied. Then she looked at River and corrected herself. "I'll catch you, anyway."

"What do you mean, you will? I'd catch her."

"Only because Jack would kill you if you didn't."

"No! Well, maybe a little bit because of that."

"Guys, focus," Scarlett took a deep breath as she lowered herself down into the cold water. Ash and River moved on either side of her as she clenched tightly onto the ground to keep herself from slipping. The lake wasn't that deep, but Scarlett's feet couldn't quite reach the ground. The middle of the lake was the deepest part, but Ash had assured her they'd wait to swim in that area for another day. "What now?"

"Relax," Ash tried to sound as soothing as possible. Scarlett's entire body was tense and while she didn't quite look terrified, she wasn't too far from it. The brunette felt the same overprotectiveness she'd felt for her brothers, Morpheus and Somnia, as well as Jack. Scarlett was the youngest immortal Ash had ever met and Ash was more than happy to offer guidance whenever she could. "You're fine."

"We won't let you fall. Unless you make us mad. Then you're on your own," River joked. He didn't feel the urge to guide Scarlett nearly as often as Ash and Jack did, wanting her to figure things out on her own, but he knew there were some things she needed help with. Like swimming. Being named after a body of water had encouraged River to learn to swim at a young age, mostly so he could play in his namesake, so being surrounded by water was natural for him.

Clearly, Scarlett wasn't nearly as comfortable in the water as River or Ash were.

"All joking aside, we've got you. Just hold on, and start kicking. We're just practicing today," River stated calmly. Scarlett took a deep breath and did as he said, for the next ten minutes or so.

"I'm getting kinda tired of this," Scarlett admitted. She was beyond grateful for her two instructors and was slowly getting adjusted to being in the water.

"Next step then," Ash announced as she swam a few feet away, on Scarlett's left. River did the same but to the redhead's right. "You're gonna swim to me. And then try to swim to River. Okay?"

"Um…okay." Scarlett kicked her legs and moved her arms like she'd been taught, though the water made her motions slower than they'd been on land. When she reached Ash, she beamed excitedly. "I did it!"

Ash grinned. "Yes, you did. You wanna try going to River now?"

"Yeah!" Scarlett exclaimed excitedly. Ash helped her turn around to face the dark-haired boy.

"You got this," River smiled encouragingly and waved as Scarlett began to swim the slightly longer distance towards him. When she got there, he whooped and spun her around. "Told ya!"

"Looks like you guys are having fun."

River, Scarlett, and Ash all turned simultaneously to see Jack resting on the ledge, watching the Seasonals with a fond smile on his face.

"Jack!" Scarlett went to move but forgot to kick her legs and started to sink. River wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her towards the edge. She winced and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

"You made a lot of progress, so we'll let it slide," River winked as Jack helped Scarlett out of the water. "Your girl did pretty good."

"I saw that," Jack waved at Ash, who swam over towards the group. "Thanks for teaching her."

"Our pleasure," Ash replied.

Scarlett shivered slightly, having been in the water for so long the air felt cold to her. Jack noticed this and pulled his hoodie off before handing it to her. "Here, don't want you to catch a cold."

"Thank you," Scarlett sat on the rock, followed by Jack. She was glad to see her boyfriend but was disappointed he hadn't been there to have fun with the rest of them. "Too bad you couldn't watch the whole time."

Jack seemed to ponder this for a second before he spoke, his voice barely above a whisper but still loud enough for them all to hear.

"Well, next time I'll join you. Haven't swum in a while, might need a refresher."

* * *

**AN: I know it's been a while but there's been so much chaos the past few months I've been preoccupied. But I'm back, posting once a month or so. Let me know if there are any requests. Stay safe, guys. And a special shoutout to Demi Clayton, who has left many positive reviews on this story. Thank you for your support. Until next time...**

**\- Kitkat Out!**


	15. Scarlett's Moon Lullaby

**While you read this, I recommend you go onYouTube and search up **'_**Annapantsu Della's Moon Lullaby'**_ **and listen to the song. Imagine that the singer is Scarlett. **

Disclaimer: I do not own this song nor do I own the cover performed by Annapantsu.

* * *

Scarlett loved to sing. It was something she had always enjoyed, and she especially loved singing to the Burgess kids. She wasn't able to do it every night, but whenever she could, Scarlett would go visit each and every one of them to sing them to sleep, as she did with Jamie and Sophie back when she was mortal.

But on one particular night, Sandy had dropped by the North Pole to find Scarlett and asked her to follow him to the Bennett children's home. "What's going on?"

He said nothing (like usual) and made an image of one of the Night Mares Pitch had created before it ran over an image of Jamie in his bed, the boy tossing and turning.

"Jamie's had a nightmare? Was it Pitch?" Scarlett asked worriedly. Sandy shook his head, and the panic Scarlett felt faded. "Oh, just a regular bad dream then?"

Sandy nodded his head before he pointed at the redhead. Then he made music notes appear over his head.

"You want me to sing? Why?" Scarlett asked. As far as she knew, only Jack was aware of the lullabies she'd sing for Jamie and Sophie. Sandy wrinkled his nose before he made a series of letters appear in his golden sand.

Scarlett watched as he slowly spelled out 'music helps'. She wasn't quite sure how songs were supposed to drive away the bad dreams, but if it meant Jamie didn't have any more bad dreams, she'd be happy to help.

"Whatever you say. Thanks for the heads up," Scarlett replied. Sandy nodded his head before he conjured up a golden dreamcloud and flew away to deliver his Dreamsand.

The Spirit of Autumn rode the West Wind up to Jamie's window, which he always kept unlocked in case of an impromptu visit from Jack or Scarlett. She glanced into the window that led to Sophie's room and saw the blonde sleeping on the floor. Again. Scarlett didn't want to disturb the girl, so she silently made her way into Jamie's room.

The brown-haired boy was asleep, but there was no golden sand floating over his head. He tossed and turned a couple of times before Scarlett sat on the edge of his bed and gently shook the boy awake.

"Ah, who is it?!" Jamie exclaimed. Scarlett shushed the boy, not wanting to wake up the rest of the house. Jamie's eyes focused on the redhead and his shoulders slumped as he visibly relaxed. "Scarlett, what are you doing here?"

"A certain Guardian told me you were having a bad dream. How long has it been happening?"

Jamie looked at his hands, avoiding eye contact with the immortal teen. "Not long, and it's not every night. But sometimes I remember Cerelia…"

Scarlett sighed slightly. She'd known there would be consequences to the Bennett children spending so much time with the evil woman, but she'd hoped it wouldn't affect them too badly. Scarlett shuffled slightly and sat beside Jamie before she hugged him, bringing the boy closer to her body.

"Why don't you pick tonight's song, then?" Scarlett whispered. Jamie was getting older, and therefore always insisted that the lullabies were for Sophie, not him. But that night, it seemed like he was still the little boy Scarlett had known, the one who would plead for songs every time she came over before Scarlett became a Guardian.

"There's this one Pippa likes, from this show she's obsessed with," Jamie replied. "Della's Moon Lullaby. I like that it's kind of about Manny."

'_Of course,' _Scarlett thought to herself. Jamie loved anything and everything that had to do with the Man in the Moon. Outloud, she said, "Luckily, I know that one."

The redhead began to sing softly, and as she sang, Scarlett changed a line of the lyrics, knowing Jamie would hate being called a baby.

_Look at the stars,_

_My darling little boy_

_Life is strange and vast_

_Filled with wonders and joy._

_Face each new sun_

_With eyes clear and truth_

_I'm not afraid of the unknown._

_Because I'll face it all with you_

_Look to the stars_

_And gaze up at the moon_

_Even as these days pass_

_I'm always thinking of you._

_Face each new day_

_And keep your hope alive_

_I promise I'll be there soon_

_It won't be long 'til I'm with you._

As she sang, Scarlett noticed Jamie's eyelids slowly but surely closing. His breathing evened out, and soon he was fast asleep. Scarlett got up and gently laid the boy in his bed, tucking him slightly.

A soft knock at the window grabbed her attention, and she saw Sandy right outside. He smiled at the young boy and with a wave of his hand, Dreamsand made it's way over to Jamie.

"Thanks for getting me," Scarlett said as she made her way outside, closing the window behind her. He grinned, and with that, they were gone, leaving a certain Believer to dream about the Moon and a voice singing to him.

* * *

**AN: So Annapantsu is one of my favorite YouTubers because she has such an amazing voice. She does a lot of covers of songs, including this one, so go check out her channel and subscribe if you love her talented singing. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Stay safe and healthy!**

**\- Kitkat Out!**


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